The last few months have given credence to Lenin's claim that “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” It's been a wild (ongoing) ride, shattering whatever sense of normality late-stage capitalism allowed and sending many – myself included – into the dark space of unknowing that accompanies a breakdown in our collective sense-making.
“In the end, the only power that any of these [corporate] institution have... are the power that we as citizens yield to them. And they remain in power because we accept their legitimacy… If we withdraw that legitimacy they lose their power over us.” – David Korten (2011) * It's no secret that the world … Continue reading How to Stop Global Destruction (& Build Flourishing Local Communities)
“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.” – Arundhati Roy The water seemed clearer, translucent. Was it the weather, or the lockdown? Across the harbour, a sole ferry burned its … Continue reading Shut Down Diaries III: A Walk to the Grave / And Back
"Planning for something Simple on this side of complexity, is not the same as preparing for something Tactical on the far side... We’re working in the realm of may happen, may work, may not, but the trick is not to be bounded..” – complexwales.com On the last day before lockdown, I woke at 5am, my … Continue reading Shut Down Diaries: The Social Dilemma
"In an entangled and entangling world, abandonment is not possible..." – Bayo Akomolafe (2020) I am in the kitchen, making cheese on toast. Hamish has a monitor set up at the table, his laptop to the side. The new normal, I muse. “More just figuring it out,” says Hamish. Adjusting. Then Anna comes in – … Continue reading Shut Down Diaries: Day 1
A brief overview of anarcho-syndicalism and the principles by which it operates.
An overview of a conversation between Te Kawehau Hoskins and Alison Jones on the dynamics of Māori-Pākehā relationships and the engagement necessary to honour them.
A review of the latest from Māori TV, The Negotiators, documenting what really went on in the treaty settlements, and the importance of knowing our history. So educated, what role might Pākehā play?
This is an old piece of mine – from Salient magazine in 2017 – but I'm reposting [an edited version] for the relevance it has to broader conversations on the relevance of history to today, and the potential for constitutional transformation in Aotearoa. There were a number of powerful speakers that day in Porirua at … Continue reading Imagining Decolonised Cities presents a symposium, “What is a Decolonised City?”
Last Wednesday I attended a conversation between Walter Mignolo, an Argentinian philosopher, semiotician and author, and Aotearoa’s renowned academic Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Professor of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato and the person who – as was pointed out quite early on in the talk – quite literally wrote the book on decolonisation.
