Ethical egoism is the philosophical theory that people should always act in their own self-interest, that when faced with choices between what’s good for oneself and what’s good for others, one should always place one’s own interests first. One of the chief exponents of this view was Ayn Rand, who influenced a generation of powerful people, including Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher, each of whom helped to push forward the neoliberalist agenda that has dominated social and political life since the 1980s. At the heart of neoliberalist philosophy is the idea that greed is good, not just…
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This section contains brief descriptions and links to interesting video material that is available online. The views expressed in these videos, as well as the credit and copyright, in each case belongs exclusively to the filmmaker(s) and/or producer(s).
Catastroika: privatization goes public (documentary)
With its on-going “debt crisis” Greece has emerged as a target for economic “solutions testing.” So far austerity and large-scale privatization seem to be the favored treatment, as prescribed by the putative economic experts–the IMF and the EU banking sector. In June 2011 Democracy Now hosted a debate with Hara Kouki and Costas Panayotakis, discussing the imposed economic measurements that triggered widespread protest throughout Greece and led to ridiculous new levels of privatization, such as the Greek police force renting out their officers and helicopters to private individuals. And a related documentary, “Catastroika: privatization goes public,” was recently released, analyzing the transfer…
Tracking the trackers (TED lecture by Gary Kovacs)
As you surf the internet, information is being collected about you. Web tracking is not 100% evil — personal data can make your browsing more efficient; cookies can help your favorite websites stay in business. But, says Gary Kovacs in this TED lecture, it is your right to know what data is being collected about you and how it affects your online life. He unveils a Firefox add-on to do just that. Gary Kovacs is the CEO of the Mozilla Corporation, where he directs the development of Firefox. [I am] not even two bites into breakfast, and there are already nearly…
How economic inequality harms societies (TED lecture by Richard Wilkinson)
The following is a brilliant, evidence-based lecture on the devastating consequences of socio-economic inequality. The speaker is Richard Wilkinson, an epidemiologist and leading figure in the field of inequality research. The lecture presents a very compelling case for the idea that the level of socio-economic inequality in a society is the key criterion for determining the health of that society. One can also read a brief Truthout interview with Wilkinson on the consequences of inequality here.
Julian Assange and Slavoj Zizek interview David Horowitz (The World Tomorrow)
Slavoj Zizek and David Horowitz are the guests for the second episode of Julian Assange’s interview show, “The World Tomorrow“. “Intellectual superstar” Slavoj Zizek is a philosopher, psychoanalyst and cultural commentator. David Horowitz is a hard-line American conservative and unrepentant Zionist. The tone of the conversation between Zizek, Horowitz and Assange alternates between combative and friendly. The topics covered include Palestinians and Nazis, Joseph Stalin, Barack Obama, the decline of Europe, and the tension between liberty and equality. Episode 2:
Julian Assange interviews Moncef Marzouki (The World Tomorrow)
In Episode 3 of The World Tomorrow, Julian Assange interviews the president of the Republic of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki. He is a trained physician, and was a long time opponent of the dictator Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. During the early 1990s, his vocal opposition to Ben Ali led to his imprisonment. He founded the National Committee for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience, and was President of the Arab Commission for Human Rights. Persecuted and harrassed, Marzouki left Tunisia for exile in France. With other Tunisian exiles he founded and chaired his political party, the Congress for the Republic. He has…
Julian Assange interviews Hassan Nasrallah (The World Tomorrow)
In the world premiere of Julian Assange’s ‘The World Tomorrow‘ on RT, he interviews Hezbollah leader Sayyid Nasrallah, his first appearance in international media in over six years. For interviewing such a “radical” on an English-language Russian news network, Assange predicted that he would be denounced as a traitor. And sure enough Assange’s predictions are being proven true by the reactions of the international corporate media. Episode 1:
Moral behavior in animals (TED lecture by Frans de Waal)
Empathy, cooperation, fairness, and reciprocity are characteristics not only of (some) humans, but also of non-human animals. In this lecture Frans de Waal shares some surprising videos of behavioral tests on primates and other mammals that demonstrate that altruism is not a uniquely human phenomenon. This point is both intrinsically interesting and significant for its implications regarding debates on the nature of morality and the connection between morality and religion. While many theists see their religion or deity as the source of morality, these animal studies suggest otherwise, that morality, like all other forms of human and animal behavior, has evolved…
Connected, but alone? (lectures by Sherry Turkle)
In this lecture, Sherry Turkle turns her attention to the world of social media and sociable robots. As she puts it, these are technologies are the “architect of our intimacies.” In her most recent book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other, Turkle argues that the social media we encounter on a daily basis are presenting us with a moment of temptation. Drawn by the illusion of companionship without the demands of intimacy, we confuse postings and online sharing with authentic communication. We are drawn to sacrifice conversation for mere connection. Turkle suggests that…
The gamification of life (lecture by Jesse Schell)
The following presentation was given at DICE 2010 by Jesse Schell, university professor and game designer. While Part 1 and Part 2 are both worth watching, I especially recommend Part 3 (see below), where he introduces the phenomenon of gamification and envisions a commercialized future, where TVs will probably track your eyeballs and reward you for watching ads. Schell suggests that gamification could actually help people to lead better lives, but only if they are designed and implemented in a thoughtful and ethical manner.
Dying in 21st century (TED lecture by Peter Saul)
This talk was given by Peter Saul at the independently organized TED event in Newy, Australia. The original description reads: Peter Saul is Senior Intensivist in the adult and paediatric ICU at John Hunter Hospital, and Director of Intensive Care at Newcastle Private Hospital. Having trained in Cambridge, London, Sydney and Harvard, he came to Newcastle to help start up the new ICU at John Hunter, and never left. He has been accused of being an “ethicist”, which he tries to deny, but does admit to having been Head of Discipline for Medical Ethics at Newcastle University in the past,…
The illusion of free will (lecture by Sam Harris)
Sam Harris gave this talk at the California Institute of Technology in March 2012. In it Harris discusses the illusion of free will (the topic of his most recent book) and its implications for religious belief. The talk was organized by the Skeptics Society.
Exposed: NSA Spy Center (interview with James Bamford)
There is an interesting discussion on the March 21st edition of Democracy Now under the title “Exposed: Inside the NSA’s Largest and Most Expansive Secret Domestic Spy Center in Bluffdale, Utah.” The interview discusses a recent WIRED Magazine article by James Bamford entitled “The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)“. This is the Democracy Now introduction to the discussion. A new exposé in Wired Magazine reveals details about how the National Security Agency is quietly building the largest spy center in the country in Bluffdale, Utah, as part of a secret NSA surveillance program codenamed “Stellar…
I am Fishead (Documentary)
Official movie description: how psychopaths and antidepressants influence our society: a provocative snapshot of the world we live in. It is a well-known fact that our society is structured like a pyramid. The very few people at the top create conditions for the majority below. Who are these people? Can we blame them for the problems our society faces today? Guided by the saying “A fish rots from the head,” the movie sets out to follow that fishy odor. What they found out is that people at the top are more likely to be psychopaths than the rest of us.…
The Crisis of Civilization (documentary)
The Crisis of Civilization is a documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system. Weaving together archival film footage and animations, film-maker Dean Puckett, animator Lucca Benney and international security analyst Dr. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, offer a stunning wake-up call proving that ‘another world’ is not merely possible, but on its way. The film consists of seven parts which explore the interconnected dynamic of global crises of Climate Catastrophe; Peak Energy; Peak Food; Economic Instability; International Terrorism; and the Militarization…
A Call Against Arms (Aljazeera report on Jeju naval base)
In a tiny village on a small island off the coast of South Korea an entire community is taking on the might of the South Korean navy and government to contest the construction of one of the region’s largest naval bases. The village of Gangjeong on the island of Jeju has fewer than 2,000 inhabitants but it has become the epicentre of growing discontent over one of the world’s biggest arms races. The South Korean government is adamant that the Gangjeong naval base, which it began constructing in 2007, will strengthen national security. But those opposed to it fear that…
The Purpose of Purpose (Lecture by Richard Dawkins)
In “The Purpose of Purpose” lecture Richard Dawkins tells an anecdote of Peter Atkins being asked by a member of the Royal Family, “But what about the ‘why question?'” and Atkins replying, “That is a silly question”. Dawkins notes that asking why for inanimate objects like air or rocks is almost always considered inappropriate. But asking why for living organisms was often done in the past. He mentions a number of amusing examples, such as claims that domestic animals provide a means to keep their meat fresh until we have need to eat them, lice were a strong incentive to personal cleanliness,…
Speaking out on climate change (TED lecture by James Hansen)
Another lecture that really should be required viewing for everyone. James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is a credible expert on climate change and global warming. In this lecture he describes some of the main features of the climate change taking place today and gives a good sense of just how much time is left before we reach the point of no return. Most amazing is the fact that Hansen firmly believes that the greatest challenge facing human civilization has a simple and elegant solution, which is for governments to collect a gradually rising carbon…
KONY 2012
KONY 2012 is a short, powerful, and highly controversial film allegedly made to draw attention to the heinous crimes of Joseph Kony and to mobilize people around the world to do what they can to help bring this monster of a human to justice. For a brief moment, the film became an internet sensation and catapulted its director, Jason Russell to fame, until articles like this one from Adam Branch surfaced, accusing Russell of dangerous ignorance and turning his fame into global notoriety.
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