Confronting Change

Philanthropists must find the temptation to tackle the seemingly worst problems – those that result in the most pronounced or widespread human misery – irresistible. They stand the best chance of benefitting either the most people or the most “deserving” of relief. Problems that simultaneously affect many people and cause great suffering are especially attractive… Continue reading »

Watching yet another tribute to Ronald Reagan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, I was struck by the familiarity of the story unfolding: Earnest president has plan to save the country, is sometimes misunderstood, and struggles to stick with his principles in the face of plunging popularity as his policies do… Continue reading »

When similar values, goals, interpretations of reality and the like are widely shared within a group, decision-making is relatively simple. Societies are however becoming increasingly polarized, both across nations and within them, due primarily to the speed of change in economies and other social influences – even in relatively mundane matters such as fashion, for… Continue reading »

At the risk of over-generalizing, societies are simply not good at long-range social/economic planning. Since this issue, and the topic of long-range planning in general, is seldom discussed in any type of public forum, we are mostly stuck with surmising what the problem is all about. There are problems of people engaged in the present… Continue reading »