Values to help heal our Brexit divisions
An understanding of values could help to heal the divisions that have been deepened by the EU Referendum, pointing to a crucial role for our cultural organisations. Working at the University of Bath, one of us (Paul) has studied values data from across the European Union and has found that people who attach importance to the group of values called “Security” are likely to be the least trustful of the European Union.
Values work begins in a ‘big’ way at Manchester Museum
You may have seen in our previous blog post that Common Cause Foundation are working at Manchester Museum on a programme of work to explore how the museum can convey a deeper appreciation of the values that most people in Greater Manchester share. I’m pleased to say that last month we kicked off our work in a ‘big’ way with a Big Saturday at Manchester Museum!
We Need to Talk About Englishness
English people in the social and environmental movements often don’t like talking about English identity. It seems to be a source of embarrassment. When I speak to friends about Englishness, I find that many like to shift the conversation subtly onto the safer ground of Britishness. But there’s an irony here. This easy elision from Englishness to Britishness could only ever be sustained by those living in England. Where it’s unconscious, it’s an elision that arises through a sense of being numerically, economically and culturally dominant. Yet it is those who feel most uncomfortable about Englishness, and who appeal most readily to Britishness, who are also the first to consciously reject any possible basis for dominance.
The Values of Cooperation
Sometimes, you just need confidence. Ask yourself this: do I ever feel a bit lonely, a bit different if I care about social justice, or about what we are doing to the environment? If you do, then it is not because you are alone. It is because you are made to feel alone. This is what I have learned from Common Cause Foundation.
Values and civic participation in Greater Manchester
Promoting public demand for a more caring society
Grounds for hope in challenging times
We know – we don’t need to see the data, though here it is – that we (individually and collectively) embody deep contradictions. We desire power, wealth, and image. We tend easily towards prejudice. These are values that are celebrated – often blatantly, often subtly – in so many ways; through much of the media and advertising that we consume, through the role-models of our political leaders, even through the ways in which we measure the progress of our society. The dead hand of market fundamentalism, it seems – beckons us ever towards self-interest and antipathy.
Donald Trump’s selective hearing about climate change
One key barrier to public acceptance of the evidence for man-made climate change is our psychological investment in the current economic system. At one level this seems obvious, because the implications of any adequate response to climate change for today’s economic institutions will be profound. We might anticipate that anyone heavily invested in today’s economic system is going to be attracted to sources of information more sceptical of climate change (and, on the other hand, that people critical of the economic system may be more attracted to sources of information underscoring its severity).
Money can’t buy love – or can it?
“Money can’t buy love”, we’re told. And we now know that thinking about money is likely to make love a lot more difficult. But is this inevitable?
Is reframing climate change a waste of time?
If nobody much cares about climate change, does it really much matter how it’s talked about? Our common climateNo, according to David Roberts. Rather, he argues, climate communicators and campaigners shouldn’t spend so much time worrying about how to ‘reframe’ their message. Is he right?
Values, voting and volunteering
If you’re a typical Brit, you may love Strictly Come Dancing, worry about the household budget and quite fancy your boss’s job. But you’ll also value friendship, honesty and justice above image, money and success.