My wife was born in Croatia and lived through the shelling of Zagreb by Serb forces. Over the last years with the polarisation of UK society over Brexit, Covid etc, we have repeatedly had conversations about how the climate in the UK was becoming increasingly like that of pre-war Yugoslavia. At first my reaction was, "Of course this cannot happen here, we are a progressive democracy". But as things began to play out and politicians were killed, my views began to change.

Today I read this excellent article by Bosnian born writer, Elizabeth Rubin of the Intercept.

Spirituality and economics have traditionally been viewed as things on opposite ends of the human intellectual spectrum. One built on graphs, models and complex mathematics, while the other is painted with the brush of mystique, imprecision and often unproven assertion. And yet Prout brings these two things together to shape a new vision of economic policy that can create a more sustainable and humane world. Why? Here are 3 reasons.

Take a moment to watch this brilliant take on how our species can view the COVID-19 crisis, in ways that can either hinder or help us to create a better future.

Professor Sohail Inayatullah elaborates on the 3 modes of thinking and their possible outcomes:-

Its a buzzword, spray-painted across so many commercial taglines, and unconsciously uttered by so many mouths, but are we all caught in a trap of understanding what sustainability really means? We find safety in it, which is why it's such a good vehicle for marketing, because, after all, isn't that what humans really want - to find shelter, to be safe?

Thing is, there's a flaw, a gaping hole. If we scratch below the surface it's glaringly obvious. Sustainability, in the way we commonly think about it, is not actually sustainable! Let me explain...

What is the difference between an absolutist ideology like Veganism and the progressive implementation of a value like Ahimsa? Lets start with the Sanskrit word Ahimsa - meaning without harm A-himsa where Himsa means to strike in sanskrit. However, Ahimsa is a value whose spirit is not absolutist, but rather means do as little harm as possible. Jain monks have tried to adopt this value in an absolutist way and will walk down the road with a brush, brushing insects out of their path lest they tread on them and kill them.