Political leadership & Human agency
Two podcasts, and some predictions for 2025.
Morteza Sharifi and I have done two final podcasts, which you can watch on Youtube, on the topics:
Political leadership and Human agency.
Or you can listen on Morteza’s Focus on Iran channel on Spotify.
What, if any, control do we have over our future?
I’m not keen on making predictions, but Morteza insisted, and I’m afraid I wasn’t able to be optimistic about 2025. The Trump Circus is back in town, this time featuring unelected ringmaster Elon Musk. And, while I’m glad to see a dictator fall in Syria, I’m not confident that peace will prevail in that country, let alone in the Middle East generally, nor that autocrats and dictators won’t continue to prosper. Iran’s theocratic government will remain in the place for the short term at least, even though it’s been weakened by Israel. Russia won’t get expelled from Ukraine. Meanwhile the planet heats up and millions are displaced and hungry.
Closer to home, the economy has gone into a nose-dive, public debts are mounting, and the country is deeply divided over the meaning of its founding document. And, yes, things could get worse.
I hope at least that my readers will enjoy some good times over the holidays.
Any feedback about what you’d like to see more (or less) of from me in the new year will be considered.
Who’s the one in charge?
I've mostly enjoyed your substacks this year - I haven't yet bothered to listen to your You Tube videos which seem to be a recent thing. Based on your comments viz Iran etc I suggest you stick to politics closer to home. I really can't understand why the overwhelming majority of NZ commentators are essentially echo chambers of the neoconservative agenda. We seem to be caught up in Western exceptionalism...
It's not just Musk, it's also Bezos, Koch, Murdoch, & a host of many other like minded neo-feudalists. They're all living examples of the need for monopoly-busting laws to be enforced.