What’s in a handshake?

Quote
"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."  Mark Twain

News
Queen Elizabeth made history by shaking the hand of Martin McGuinness, the Deputy First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly on Wednesday.  McGuinness was once a senior commander in the IRA, which for decades waged war on the British government, police, and establishment – which included killing the Queen’s relative Lord Mountbatten in 1979. 
 

The 4 second handshake reflected a relationship at three different levels.  Officially it was between the UK head of state and a democratically elected leader of one of Her Majesty’s devolved political institutions.  But it was also between the person who represents a long history of British rule in Ireland, and a former leader of an armed group which bitterly opposed that rule.  Lastly, it was between someone whose close relative had been murdered by the IRA and a person who may have been party to the decision to kill him.
 

The public gesture was not cheap; for the Queen, it meant overcoming her resentment and loss to extend forgiveness towards someone linked to her cousin’s murderers.  For McGuinness, it meant incurring the hostility of people in the republican movement who still oppose the partition of Ireland, and who think he has betrayed the cause.  
 

But both McGuinness and the Queen acted this way because of their commitment to the peace process; they sought the greater good of the people of Northern Ireland above their own reputation or grievances. 
 

Critics say how can there be reconciliation without repentance?   McGuinness has admitted very little of what he did while in the IRA.  Yet the journey of reconciliation rarely begins with complete disclosure; rather it is made up of many cautious steps towards the other side, and disclosure, forgiveness and trust grow gradually along the way.  

The people of Northern Ireland have not yet fully recovered from the grief and loss caused by the “Troubles”, but through this handshake, old enmities are being put to rest, and a lasting peace is that much closer.

Read on
“Peace-building from a Biblical Perspective” is an article by Rev. Dr Jeremy Ive, who has been at the forefront of various reconciliation initiatives launched by the Jubilee Centre since the late 1980s.  Read the article here. 
 

Walk the talk
It can be hard to admit that we have enemies; is there someone you have stopped communicating with, or been unwilling to forgive, and are other people close to you adversely affected by this?  Is it time for you to show a spirit of grace and take a first step in the direction of reconciliation?
 

The last word:
From the Bible, Matthew 5, verses 43-45: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

Intergenerational inequity and state Ponzi schemes

Quote
"A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair."  Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)

News
In a high profile BBC lecture this week, TV historian Niall Ferguson addressed one of the biggest relational crises in the Western world: intergenerational inequity.  Broadly speaking, the baby-boomer generation have amassed most of the fruits of decades of stability and prosperity, then arranged for generous retirement benefits in pensions and healthcare. 
 

But now stagnating, high debt economies coupled with declining birth rates have changed the maths.  The financial burden falls on the next generations of taxpayers – whose own prospects are decidedly gloomy with housing costs, student debts and graduate unemployment high and rising.
 

Ferguson pinpointed the burden of vast, unfunded liabilities of most Western governments that don’t appear on the national accounts – promises of welfare payments in the future to an ageing population, liabilities which will have to be met by younger generations.  And that is without taking the national debt into consideration, which the next generation will also be obliged to pay for.  The state is effectively operating a giant Ponzi scheme.
 

Edmund Burke, in his “Reflections on the French Revolution” argued in 1790 that the most important social contract was not Rousseau’s one between the monarchy and the citizens but between the generations: “The state is a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born." 
 

The concept of sustainability has corrected much short-term thinking regarding economic and environmental impact of policies and decisions; it’s time to listen to Burke again and consider the condition of intergenerational relationships.   They hold the key to the sustainability of whole societies.
 

Read on…
Not everyone agrees with this rather negative analysis of the baby-boomers.  To find two lists of articles arguing the different sides of this particular debate, and a good introduction to the issue, visit the debating matters website here.
 

Walk the talk
To what extent do you understand the hopes and fears of other generations, beyond your own family?  Is there something you might do to put yourself in the shoes of school or college leavers to get a better grasp of their responsibilities and prospects?
 

The last word
From the Bible, Proverbs chapter 13, verse 22: ”A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.”

The 'shareholder spring' and relational responsibilities

Quote
‘But experience is accumulating that remoteness between ownership and operation is an evil in the relations between men, likely or certain in the long run to set up strains and enmities which will bring to nought the financial calculation.’  John Maynard Keynes, 1933.

News
The latest skirmish in the ‘shareholder spring’ was on Wednesday at WPP, the world’s largest advertising company, when 59% of shareholders voted against the proposed rise in Sir Martin Sorrell’s pay package.

The movement is shifting the focus of anger and injustice expressed by the Occupy movement from the streets – where it can be ignored – to the company’s AGM – where it cannot.  Is this a passing protest movement, or does it have the potential to reform the corporate world?
 

There is a glimmer of hope that campaign for responsible investment is beginning to change the ‘absentee landlord’ approach to owning companies, which has allowed all kinds of excesses to develop unchecked.  The focus now is on reining in executive pay, but to bring a deeper transformation, it needs to grapple with the tougher root and branch reforms of issues like long and unsocial working hours, squeezing suppliers through late payments, and the bonus culture.
 

When it comes to tackling the flaws of 21st century Capitalism, the ‘shareholder spring’ is adding bite to the bark of protests about spiralling inequality in companies.  Such inequality is a deep-seated malaise that demotivates staff, divides communities and demoralises wider society.  Secondly, the active involvement of individual shareholders at AGMs is reducing the relational distance between the ultimate owners of companies – individual capital providers – and the directors who run them.  
 

So the ‘shareholder spring’ is tackling two major ethical dilemmas at heart of modern Capitalism: unfairness, and irresponsibility of shareholders. Let us see if it can live up to its potential and become a force for relational renewal.
 

Read on
Chapter two of Transforming Capitalism from Within, the landmark report by Jonathan Rushworth and Michael Schluter, explains how limited liability company structure has led to both shareholders and directors working against the long term interests of the company.  Look up the report here.

Walk the talk
Do you know where your money is actually going in your savings or pension, if you have one?  You are likely a capital provider to a number of companies.  Why not ask your bank or pension adviser to tell you which companies you have ownership in, and find out about their practices?

The last word
From the Bible, Luke 19 verse 22: “His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?’”

Friday Five takes off....

Friday Five will be ‘off line’ for the next few weeks as I will be teaching in Australia and making visits to New Zealand, Hong Kong and Romania!  Friday Five will be back in the middle of June at the latest…

Meanwhile, let me point you to three of the most popular editions of Friday Five in case you missed them:

Meryl Streep’s greatest success?  considered the importance of two very long term, stable relationships to her unparalleled success as an actor.

Redefining marriage: what is at stake?  looks at the relational importance of marriage between a man and a woman to society in the context of the UK debate to redefine it.

The third crisis of public trust was prompted by the enquiry into phone hacking by journalists working for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire; it examines the central role of trust in society.

All the previous editions of Friday Five can be read and shared on the Friday Five site here.

Till next time! 
Jonathan

What have we done with The Scream?

The hammer fell at $120 million, the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction last week. The painting was Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, one of the most iconic and best known images ever created.

 

Yet the artist’s studio and the auctioneer’s showroom could hardly be further apart.

Munch painted this version of The Scream in 1895. Having rejected the narrow pietism of his family, he joined a Bohemian community in Oslo and came under the influence of the nihilist Hans Jaeger, who sought to drive his generation either to moral corruption or to suicide. Munch chose the former, and through his art yearned to ‘paint his own soul’, translating raw emotion and his search for meaning on to the canvas.

He later described the personal anguish behind the painting: "For several years I was almost mad… You know my picture, 'The Scream?' I was stretched to the limit – nature was screaming in my blood…"

The painting has since captured the imagination of each generation in the twentieth century, as it expresses at gut level the pervasive sense of angst and alienation – from ourselves, from others, from nature, from God.

Contrast this with the scene last week at Sotheby’s, when art collectors and their agents gathered in elegant attire to fight over who would part with the most outrageous sum to acquire this cry of a lost young man on a Norwegian bridge.

Munch’s iconic painting no longer provokes serious discussion about what has gone so tragically wrong with the Western view of the world; instead the image has become domesticated, commercialised and trivialised.

In place of stimulating an enquiry into how nihilism and its 21st century forms lead people to despair and suicide, The Scream excited investors into calculating the painting’s financial value and how that might increase.

Rather than prompting a sympathetic hearing of young people’s troubled search for meaning in a painful and confusing world, the record-breaking painting has become the trophy of someone who might instead have spent that $120 million on initiatives to rekindle a sense belonging, understanding and hope to those young people inheriting only broken families, lifeless philosophies, bankrupt economies and a fearful world.

What have we done with The Scream?

Urban democracy: directly elected mayors?

Quote

“A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.”  James Freeman Clarke, American theologian and author (1810-88)

News

Yesterday, ten British cities held a referendum on whether to establish directly elected mayors, in place of the system whereby local councillors choose their leader. So far, only one of the first five cities has said yes, albeit with low voter turnout.

Advocates of change argue that the current system lacks accountability and is prone to party political squabbles; most city dwellers don’t even know who the leader of their council is. A directly elected mayor would be an advocate for the city, accountable to the electorate as a whole, with a city-wide mandate to deliver change. Opponents say this will only increase the costs of local government, centralise power in one person, and move away from consensus politics.

However, since cities are increasingly competing with each other nationally and internationally for investment and tourism, then it could be argued that a champion is needed – someone who is charismatic, ambitious and entrepreneurial, at arm’s length from party bosses. Boris Johnson, the front runner in yesterday’s election for London Mayor, typifies this kind of leader.

From a relational angle, a stronger relationship is established between the voters and their elected mayor, with the potential for greater transparency and accountability. Also, by rallying the whole population around common goals for the city, the mayor can build commonality and strengthen community relationships. However, with more powers available, there’s the risk that a directly elected mayor may also downgrade relationships with other elected councillors and override minority concerns.

An elected mayor can help foster a sense of local identity, pride and industriousness; but the drive to promote the city’s interests in a competitive market must never lead to antagonistic relationships with other localities. In a relational society, competition between cities or regions should always be tempered by a commitment to regional and national solidarity. Let’s hope any elected mayors will have the wisdom to strike that balance.

Read on…

In 1904, GK Chesterton published his first novel, “The Napoleon of Notting Hill”, set 80 years in the future in a politically drab and apathetic society.  It tells a story of what happens when localism is taken to an extreme.  Read a review of the book here. 

Walk the talk

Apathetic voter turnout undermines the whole basis and legitimacy of democracy; what might you do to encourage more people to go to the polls – even if they don’t think their vote will make any difference?

The Last Word

Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 13: “Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”