My Death Show, Liberalism
Why I’m performing a theatre show on death (Jan 3). Liberalism. On running a hospice over COVID.
‘You will come to learn that most things to be feared exist in life, not in death.’
Why I’m performing a theatre show on death (Jan 3)
Liberalism
On running a hospice over COVID
Links:
My Dad died when I was 20. One of my best friends died when I was 19. Two school friends died when I was 16. I was in Manhattan over 9/11. I was in London over 7/7. I left the Thai beaches the very morning the tsunami struck.
I live not in fear. In part, as I accept the randomness that is living life. We can only control, what we can control. It turns out often that’s not very much, or certainly less than we think.
When I was younger, because I had seen some death, and some of that death very upfront, I gained the ability to talk about it. A side effect of such improved health and wealth, especially in rich nations, is that young people rarely encounter death. In fact, today, this stretches into later life, especially in rich nations.
The pandemic, in particular, but really life in general has brought many of us closer to death. Too many of my friends and acquaintances unnecessarily find talking about death, a taboo. This leaves us unprepared and vulnerable to poor decisions.
The way we die and interact with death from grief, to rituals, to tax and admin to the causes we attribute to death (was it an heart attack, or was it a broken heart?) reveal many ways in which we are human.
These are some of the reasons I created a show - a form of performance-lecture - to create a piece of theatre to give us back the ability to talk and be prepared about such a vital event. The performance is interactive, if you wish, you bring your own ideas to the show and we weave a form of performance conversation to leave all of us lifted up by the end.
If you can not wait for the show, and you’d like to chat about what a funeral could be. Then I recommend contacting Poppy’s (London based). My friend, Clare Montagu helps to run Poppy’s and are offering a consultation about how a funeral can be. (The somewhat awkwardly named ‘funeral wishes consultation’)
I’ve created my own funeral 5 times now with an audience. Each time we’ve ended with a different set of clothes (last time they wanted a pink tuxedo!), not embalmed and with a quite a range of music. We flip-flop between cremation and burial, with a significant faction for composting or aquamation (tricky in the UK).
Feel free to look them up. And (bias of course) I recommend them.
This was my conversation with Clare about her experience running a hospice over the start of COVID.
The flipside of death is life. And against this, I would like to point out (again, as I regularly do) that life expectancy in general globally continues to go up and to the right (though COVID brings a small dip), while both infant mortality and death in child birth goes down.
These are slower moving forces than war or rage but I’d argue the more important long term trend.
Cass Sunstein has a NYT Op-ed defending the “classical liberal” view. I say classical liberal as for those who care (which seems to be a small group overall) that is how the term seems to be today for the type of liberalism which had its roots in the 1800s. The term “liberal” has flip-flopped over time.
I’ve come to critically examine the state of economic and philosophy thought more recently in my middle age. Via podcasts (philosophy eg Larry Temkin, Jo Wolff), reading and writing. My life career route has been much more pragmatic and practical. I’ve written for theatre. I do cost benefit and expected value analysis for investments. I have done controlled experiments for neuroscience. I travelled a fair amount. I do not have any strong views on philosophy. My views are very lightly held. Like on faith, I’ve now seen and experienced too wide a range of humanity and this planet (and this wide range is only a tiny tiny tiny fragment of what is there) to strongly hold on to much.
But, Sunstein has 35 claims with his funniest, and most oblique true being - liberals are:
“Anti-anti-anti-laughter”
Sunstein should perhaps have dreamt bigger and gone for 95 claims. The NYT probably would not have given him the space. But 95 would reference Luther and be elliptically stronger allusion.
So even though I don’t know what I don't really know, I started to note down my own thoughts. Staring with two oblique claims…and was on the way to 95 but I’ve stopped in the 70s (and my bullet point counter went awry). The problem being that classical liberals argued amongst themselves on many points (eg where to draw the line on what the role of the state was). In any case I found it an interesting enough exercise to go alongside Sunstein’s essay that I leave it below.
Liberals tend to like theatre and the arts. Great theatre is still a vector of ideas. They understand theatre asks the critical questions of us. As such theater is a force for the progress of humanity. And yet the best theatre has more questions than answers, and taken together is pluralist.
Liberals tend to appreciate food in all its diversity. Food is an expression of humanity and human culture and within its multitude of combinations expresses our values and history.
And more classically:
1. Individual Freedom : Emphasis on the freedom and rights of the individual.
2. Limited but crucial Government : Advocacy for minimum viable government intervention in personal lives. But where government is needed (decided by the people) then excellent state capacity should be sought.
3. Rule of Law : Belief in a consistent legal framework that applies to all.
4. Property Rights : Strong protection for the right to own and use property.
5. Market Economy : Support for economic systems based on supply and demand, but exemptions where society requires, typically externalities such as pollution.
6. Civil Liberties : Protection of fundamental civil rights and freedoms.
7. Freedom of Speech : Upholding the right to express one's opinions freely.
8. Democracy : Commitment to democratic governance and fair elections.
9. Freedom of the Press : Support for a free, independent, and uncensored press.
10. Equality Before the Law : Everyone is equal under the law regardless of status.
11. Freedom of Religion : The right to practice any or no religion.
12. Separation of Powers : Dividing government power to prevent abuse.
13. Pluralism of views: General tolerance of views (where no one is harmed)
14. Individual Autonomy : Respect for personal choice and self-direction.
15. Freedom of Assembly : The right to gather and express collective views.
16. Freedom of Association : The right to form or join groups and organizations.
17. Economic Liberalism : The economy should be free from excessive government control (I guess this is similar to markets but not quite).
18. Political Pluralism : A variety of political opinions should be tolerated.
19. Judicial Independence : Courts should be free from political pressure.
20. Secular Governance : Separation of religious and state affairs.
21. Personal Responsibility : Individuals are accountable for their actions.
22. Voluntarism : Emphasizing voluntary action in social and economic interactions.
23. Anti-Authoritarianism : Opposition to authoritarian control.
24. Freedom from Coercion : Individuals should not be coerced by the state (or any organization).
25. Protection of Disability Rights : Safeguarding the rights of minority groups (disability).
26. Protection of Minority Rights : Safeguarding the rights of minority groups (race).
27. Free Trade : Support for few restrictions on international trade cf. economy.
28. Cultural Liberalism : Embracing cultural diversity and expression.
29. Self-Ownership : The belief that individuals own their bodies and labor.
30. Market Competition : Encouraging competition in the marketplace.
31. Meritocracy : Rewards and positions based on ability and talent.
32. Civil Society : Encouraging private organizations and societal groups.
33. Social Mobility : The ability to change one's socio-economic status.
34. Transparency in Governance : Open and accountable government.
35. Right to Privacy : Safeguarding individuals' private life from state intrusion.
36. Limited Taxation : Keeping taxes low(er) to promote individual economic freedom, less state interventions.
37. Freedom of Information : Public access to information held by the government.
38. Respect for International Law : Adherence to international norms and agreements.
39. Deregulation : Reducing government rules and regulations cf. State interventions
40. Civic Engagement : Encouraging participation in public life and decision-making.
41. Innovation and Progress : Promoting technological and social advancement.
42. Decentralization of Power : Distributing power to prevent centralization.
43. Protection Against Arbitrary Arrest : Safeguards against unjust detention.
44. Balance of Power : Ensuring no single entity has excessive control.
45. Free Banking : Banking systems free from excessive state control.
46. Intellectual Property Rights : Protecting the rights of creators and inventors.
47. Consumer Sovereignty : Consumer preferences drive economic decisions.
48. Voluntary Exchange : Transactions should occur without coercion.
49. Right to a Fair Trial : Ensuring fairness in legal proceedings.
50. Anti-Monopoly : Opposition to monopolistic business practices.
51. Equality of Opportunity : Equal chances for everyone to succeed.
52. Freedom of Movement : The right to travel and live where one chooses.
53. Right to Protest : The right to publicly demonstrate one's views.
Principle of Non-Intervention : Non-interference in other nations' affairs.
Peaceful Conflict Resolution : Resolving disputes without resorting to violence.
Human Dignity : Respecting the inherent worth of each individual.
Charity and Philanthropy : Encouraging private support for the needy.
Moral Autonomy : Individuals should make their own moral choices.
National Sovereignty : Respecting the independence of nations.
Tolerance : Accepting different lifestyles and opinions.
Contractual Freedom : Freedom to enter legally binding agreements.
Political Representation : Citizens should have representatives in government.
Public Accountability : Government officials should be answerable to the public.
Freedom from Slavery : Absolute opposition to all forms of slavery.
Right to Vote : Every citizen should have the right to vote.
Freedom of Artistic Expression : Artists should create without censorship.
Protection of Refugees : Supporting the rights and protection of refugees.
Fair Competition : Promoting a level playing field in business.
Respect for Individual Choices : Respecting diverse life choices.
Consent of the Governed : Governments derive power from the consent of the people.
Any major ones, I’ve missed?
Links:
Can we call Soumaya @SoumayaKeynes a fun sponge? "The chancellor should get a penalty for every made-up number baked into the OBR’s forecast. Perhaps a handful of glitter thrown at him for each one." (FT link)
LT trends on immigration (UK), public support. (Slides, X)
Challenges of monitoring and validating carbon removal. (X, Glen Peters)
UK Metascience unit (X, Westlake) “What will this new metascience unit do, I hear you ask? It'll fund research into important questions about what sorts of innovation funding work, and how to improve them, and conduct experiments on funding methods.”
Big news from Better Science! We're launching the Lovelace Future Scientific Institutions Essay Prize. £1500 each for 3-5 essays that offer bold, transformative visions for new scientific institutions. (X, link)
‘You will come to learn that most things to be feared exist in life, not in death.’
Thanks for reading!