Reading Humanists

The BIG ZOOM Discussion
Building on the success of the One Life Course last year and the regular monthly Lunchtime Discussion Group, Humanists in Berkshire will hold our next Zoom event on the topic Can Democracies Address Long-term Issues?

All are welcome to attend. Humanists in Berkshire is a collaboration between Reading and Windsor Humanists.

Can Democracies Address Long-term Issues?
Britain’s democratic system emerged through a gradual and often erratic process of evolution, beginning in the thirteenth century. It was shaped by a continuous struggle for power between monarchs, nobles, and tradesmen. Until the nineteenth century, the electorate was far from representative, comprising only a fraction of the (male) population. Even into the early twentieth century, the nobility retained the authority to veto legislation. There was never a grand blueprint for governance, nor a systematic evaluation of its effectiveness. Yet, Britain’s democracy was once admired across the civilised world, fostering the Industrial Revolution, enabling the expansion of the British Empire, and ensuring health, safety, and security for its citizens during and after the World Wars.

However, since the Suez Crisis of the 1950s, Britain’s global power and influence have diminished significantly. The country no longer commands the leadership it once did. As Ian Dunt argues in How Westminster Works … and Why it Doesn’t, and Sam Freeman in Failed State, the British democratic system suffers from a lack of expertise, short-termism, and an unwillingness to delegate authority.

This challenge is not unique to Britain — democracies across Europe are grappling with similar struggles. They face increasing difficulty in competing economically and politically with their strategic rivals in North America and Asia.

For our next meeting we have decided to read about truth, data, and developing a world view based on facts.

Suggested Reading

• How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers, by Tim Harford
• Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, By Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund

If you don’t have the time for any books, you could read articles by David Spiegelhalter, listen to his talks on YouTube.

Do you listen to More or Less on Radio 4? Perhaps you are already ready to participate!

Whatever you decide to read or listen, join us for a stimulating discussion with like-minded people in a relaxed atmosphere.

In How to Make the World Add Up, Tim Harford draws on his experience as both an economist and presenter of the BBC's radio show More or Less. He takes us deep into the world of disinformation and obfuscation, bad research and misplaced motivation to find those priceless jewels of data and analysis that make communicating with numbers worthwhile. Harford's characters range from the art forger who conned the Nazis, to the stripper who fell in love with the most powerful congressman in Washington, to famous data detectives such as John Maynard Keynes, Daniel Kahneman and Florence Nightingale. He reveals how we can evaluate the claims that surround us with confidence, curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism.

In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective — from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).