his revolved around changing the structure of the system that's programmed for disaster. i'd like to introduce david through some of his own words excerpted from his forward to my last book dreaming the future. david is an amazing right structural change requires tossing overboard many of the foundational myths of the modern world. the myth of lordly human dominance over nature the presumes that we know enough to manage the planet even though we can't manage the back forty. there's the myth that ignorance is a solvable problem not an

inescapable part of the human condition. there's the myth that the economy can grow forever on a finite planet and its corollary the human copy this is a by product of consumption. a word that ironically one for to a fatal disease. there's the myth that's. j. david. there's the myth that security is the offspring of a monstrous capacity to kill them because how. i believe such thinking is a kind of fabulous believe that we contain the demons that we wish on the world. and he continues to broad revolutions have been gathering force for centuries but always against long odds and stocks in the west the first began with what fledgling steps toward democracy and the concept of human rights based in law. ross

the spirit of the early twenty five hundred years battle for basic rights has gathered force. the dexter still stocked with the road ahead b. no less challenging or bloody the not already traveled but the battle in forcible human rights. extension of rights to life liberty property future generations. we. the nature will go for and some day what more luther jr disk as the ark history will indeed toward inclusive into the bowl justice the second stream is still older. it's all of how to make the human presence in the world are nature's terms not just human contrivance. everywhere mark is the humility to learn from nature and develop partnerships with ecological processes it's alive and flourishing in our time in the work of so many people and the bargainers all working with the- past. in mind. dave or

vision with and example have shape and guard so very many of us so years. although david above all in a- he's always scholarship with our along with the- second career his teaching has extended far beyond the classroom into the campus the town and region around it. and the national dialogue. he's been seminal in advancing ecological literacy and greening of education educational curricula and higher education institutions his books remain foundational entire. he's also been a leading figure in developing ecological disarm and putting it into action in local economy movements a longtime professor of environmental studies and politics at oberlin college in nineteen ninety six he spearheaded the design and construction. the first leed platinum green building us campus. yeah the overlook project that extended the

effort into town partnership to build a regional green army camp. the other route if you look. imagine all read into the core of national power he was in the van gogh by. climate as the biggest pull for. in human history. in nineteen eighty nine work the first ever. on the if of climate disruption in the banking industry. in two thousand eight he organized the presidential climate action project with the world which was a world class can do terry the position climate to production as the top national security issue. it's a pop music record. you bob the story policies we wish to have been more. his books including to the confronting collapse are among the on the subject. david you're countless first of on sat on many many. boards and found a board including years at rocky mountain. is focused today thankfully is on the

crisis of democracy in the crisis of governance that threatens the viability of civilization. please join me in welcoming our dear friend who reminds us that hope is over with the sleeves rolled up david or. or or interesting things and they cause us to do lots of things we otherwise would not do. so when we say i. then me and mine that takes us to markets that's the side of us that use a consumer. if you say we- hours and us to take you to a area were we're so a lot of the united states but also of a bio sphere into morals here. so for forty years or longer. we had a war waged against ours. us and we a war

waged against government get government off our backs government messes up everything. so government is the problem markets are said to be infallible. now the point of what i want to say today is that this is the most massive political failure in history we call it climate change or climate destabilization but it is chaos in any work. so i want to connect that to a political figure failure to. do the public business in a way that was transparent and open and confident and that's the headlines- everyday. and so we had the first warning given to a u. s. president. about climate change was given in nineteen sixty five. that's a long time ago we knew enough in nineteen sixty five to develop a day jury a climate policy

binding in law. so let's talk about politics you're not supposed to talk about politics sex religion or to talk about politics really section religion out of this. unless you. never mind yeah that's two options. are now. here's the origin of the idea. lost in the mists of time we don't know exactly we're idea of democracy started but in the western world started here that is the actor or the greek form below the parthenon. this is where socrates and others debated the ideas of democracy and it wasn't always pretty democracy seldom is. but the- what they did was to wager a bet bid enough. another of the time with no enough and care enough to conduct the public's business in a way that was responsible. and then there's a second proposition. and second proposition was very simply that you in a lie matter that

people matter. our rights count. is jefferson put it on alienable that we have to life and certain things that you're anti our dignity and our way in the world. and it we s. people with those rights have a war should have a say in how we're governed and by whom that was the best. did it work well. this is- facilities you'll remember to cities in the peloponnesian wars remember these things right this is a lesson in civic you've all been there. so what he broke here on the screen was why it didn't work. in greece in the peloponnesian wars this is that famous classic history. and margarita slide it takes too much time but the issue here is it falls apart john adams one of the founding fathers recall them. said the democracies die

by committing suicide seldom by outside intervention they commit suicide. read the papers. the next k. someone to bring up your it is this the here is. how did the democracy of the weimar republic after world war one. descendant in the world of gear to and shalane and great german philosophers how to become the world of hitler and himmler in paris france. and so how did these people the most educated people on earth how do they fall for hitler what was the origin of that. so how did this occur. and essence could draw from that in our own life. now the second point. is the us system how many do you think the us is a democracy with your hands. put him up really high realize shout. well established

up for it i guess we agreed what. do you have any of your favorite oil to. the data is not encouraging this is from one of the other great stories american boxer by two of the best political scientists observe this and they say that your opinion in mind don't really matter much here so there. is a grand canyon chasm that so i are in our public on this side there are law and regulations and so forth and the bridge ought to connect one as people in the pulse. isn't right. we get here okay. worst over it. so it this list items here. we favor all of these health care climate actions so forth he out of work pass congress. one forty four trillion dollar cut for people who really do need it. so we don't get what want democracy you is broken is mark dine the

skull and people who this for living i believe it is or at least it's an impaired. this is from the economist magazine and they have the united states as an impaired democracy and going south. the public opinion this is from a poll the world values survey and what it shows is that virtually every country every democracy. supported is declining if i broke this out into age groups and so forth it said the same thing the elderly the middle class young people democracy is failing. not part of this goes back to the fact that that pronoun issue i me and mine. we've been focused on market solutions and the climate change is going to respond to markets or technology. you know those are important things. but not to political change when we come together we say this our country is our democracy is our policies and they do matter. r.

like robert young hi. young star ninety four one was the wealth city park in the- if you go there now it looks like it was bob out of work war two. this is very typical of the raw belt region is not shiny like a lot of. this rust out or down this. these like detroit and- toledo youngstown ohio these are cities we now fly this is of terrorism. under wide receiver for four. donald trump in life election of this. in in the fair we've for so. as young was declining to with the pro. of each. so this just shows the odds people young. earning as warm than their pay by two year of. it's down so if you're young person youngstown warren at rust belt where a lot of the areas of the united we mark is a red zone which will come up or just a matter. i you don't see a future that you're- saw. that said matt. no it isn't quite that bad a lot of those

red zones or forty seven fifty three in terms of- support for dance and so forth but that's the united states right now. and we here are in the zone but we've got to find ways to reach into that red zone we got to reach out across these chasms. this is from a reporter recently released a last month from the u. s. senate the committee- a joint economic committee. this is what circle here or deaths of despair. hope addiction drug addiction suicide is going straight up. this is my district and this call gerrymandering you all know the term. this is how you have to gerrymander ohio to keep the most far right wing- congressperson in office. so that's called gerrymandering it it happens along the reasons you've got the most you know all about that. this is the transition of the united states now here in california- you

have- six cals and forty million people. wyoming has forty million cows and six people but you have two senators. and so the way the senate is going right now very soon. 30% of the country will decide 70% of the senate membership. and then there's this problem. we thought we had this one time with brock a bomber was elected president i just assume bore that that's great it's over- we're gonna win we finally have crossed a threshold into acceptance and diversity but- that is a little premature. these are the hate groups across the united states that this third party law center tracks the program more than this and they're well armed and- they're not quite. yet this is a problem income if you want to watch why collapses go back in history plato aristotle said he collapses because of all the garden democracy becomes an oligarch world this rule by the rich

people so for. this is simply a diagram of the transference of roughly twenty trillion dollars from the bottom to the top of the income spectrum. twenty dollars that read down the bottom if you're a working person los ground if you were those workers at a high or the rust belt states. and you have to live by page to page if you've lost. for the. this is so what. one we just become a episode receive ruled. my ex one of they were trying to do is to. surveillance democracy and in this the bug reader work again it seem to so fairly often a city com are still relevant in our world. today three. why we- been democracy in this where i got to come to as- of. how we conduct public biz with. and decent and sustained. so the is jim how

the law of the best climate. sort of the most clients. in the world. on the way down to three you can. here a general. jim hansen the queer here says that you can't. climate fixed. and that's pretty. because what have much time to fix the ipcc about a year and a half ago said we had about twelve and a half years to fix it we were down to say let or whatever. the number of months i believe it. that didn't do much. not long on this. with infrastructure. that'll way to go but- eleven or twelve you. to deploy carbon. down so. why do we have to fix democracy. in you get to think about reason here. this is going to be an all hands on deck time for us we've got to. all of us get gates all. organic farm. okay all you're business. all ready. we got to come to every only do. if our votes matter. if i policies are supported if we can bridge that gap this i of

that so. an inner there's- this point the end gets into some kind of. difficult things. can you imagine. is power. system resilient i proficient fascist society. think about because at the bottom of this explains fascism is rule by oligarchy miss opportunity racism and so forth that's the daily headlines do you see any difference between the bottom of the slide and the top prospect. not much and that's where we're headed. and then there's this see shadows the service for one of the great lights at harvard do school. it the quarter to top describe the dignity of people samatar see may be it's once churchill once said it was the worst form of government except for all the other urban. trial but he in its in perfect. and it is in.

but its the sister of government is as you and i met. at its best model not everyone or not anyone place all the time but at its best to marcus he does matter. and then the bottom corners louis to conclude the see a larger. that he was fit to rule even over a hand house as he put it. the person is who among us could be the ruler the king the emperor. who has that level of wisdom. you would have to be somebody for the reading any big mind and- foresight and so forth in her better tell you what a mind you. nobody nobody loses points- has that claim. so what do you do. what is your question here. i don't think we ought to be directed solely at donald trump. number forty five. because what he did and we are

all also give him a round of applause because what he did was to highlight everything that was wrong and had to be fixed. he took a hard liner. since we did everything that we to on. and redo and rethink. so the end of the stock is going to be we don't need to repair democracy so much as we need to invent the first ever democracy. true democracy. this gets personal restored after the election if you look at twenty sixteen i went into a deep depression i was ready to retire and go off into little white guys to play golf and bold things like that- neither which i do well. but the- or with any particular joy so what we did was to organize a conference of what we're looking at here was like looking through the rear view mirror. how did you get to the election of two sixteen. so by the way your hotel bill a- so power to build that's where we

had all the these gay. of. to make an your times in a whole series of one. for ounce b. the one on your left a friend name. see the movies. we brought people to. this by the way is ten when on the right the u. right hand side and bill if governor call rambling it was last night. but research and you would happen here this is interested we put them on the stage to get and we each to explain how you repair. work the commerce was so. fine productive creative imaginative paul you can happen. of river where barber was low an extra mark at the of the day. anything else before it's even

a political figure. so this is the next part of this we felt we pulled together thirty four authors bill mckibben who's here and a lot of very very bright people seville rahman goodies to term and so forth just from matthews and we have some of. our democracy on chip nancy. in changing over the title are. bored by the way. and the book comes out enough mid february of twenty twenty make your order if you have a smartphone ordered right now on amazon and then were falling out with you that's that are on the right side of the screen the opening event with authors and others. national cathedral. our forty fifth. of twenty twenty. the name we do events in boston and- cleveland denver los angeles. and san francisco. what we want to do is start a conversation. a conversation about how we rebuild first american democracy is you're-

bringing this democracy into a- burst. it stopped the bleeding and stabilizer vital signs first then you get the- changes. on research we have to have is how do we it in which all of us in fact do matter. so that's part of this and a government trying to restructure government started with the words that we use let's re claim our public language. how does the concert because what it has become. how did the word liberal become so dispirito's are flip sides of the same court everybody just. on one issue or another your conserver level but you're you're- my government. i don't have time to read this but begin to think about what we do in the public arena we need government. not a government. funded and defrauded. the personalized indeed yeah all those things that we've done in the past forty years to disparage government and to. the idea of

public service we need government but we need. all of the people by the people for people this transparent and effective them all those things. it's so. i'm well we're we at buying years need to think through how hard this is going to be. i think of the heroes. our sacrifice- a wrister great deal that's all of you. our we're gonna all have to risk we're all going to have to speak sacrifice something to make this dream come true frederick said dot power doesn't give up never easily and so it hasn't so what's this change look like well this is part of it. hey it's the power that we have. to be citizens. the power that we have to be. foresight the power we have to engage power until the truth. is so. what's your

name she's a veteran thirteen years old now she's sixteen or so imagine the courage she does- like lightning on a dark night she illuminated the terrain. of so imagine democracy unchanged from what all those isms all those human failures and frailties and sends the measure real democracy us we are we're all votes are counted. the right to vote in fair electoral district is guaranteed. our representatives both state legislators and county legislators and federal government so forth look like us they're diverse they're not old like me all of. the few could be able. imagine publicly funded elections get money out of politics once and for all.

imagine the you have the same health care benefits guaranteed to mitch mcconnell. imaginative marker c. in which corporations are not persons. imaginative modesty in which he co side is a crime against humanity. punishable as such. american democracy where line and systemic systematic deception is wrong it is a crime get could face port that includes television that includes all the media. imagine imagine a democracy that would protect our lands and waters as my friend and that eloquent. writer terry tempest williams would be out here just a moment get off the stage is set for so long imagine all public. protected by a democracy that

is competent to logically speaking are alert. the marker c. it would put the glow come. imagine a democracy braided to the way the world works as a physical system to buying here's all you find yours for years of his show. imagine a democracy in which justice floors down like a muddy river. they're violent no this is planners now under vinyl. but only a government of by and for the people in which we have no malice toward anyone the charity for all thank you very much.■

peter: hello, and welcome to “focus on europe.” thanks for joining us today. russia's war against ukraine is one that will have major repercussions for the entire continent. the imprint it will leave on europe is unforeseeable, even today. russia's military began attacking its neighbor in late february, upon the orders of president vladimir putin. thousands of troops that were massed at the border have been mobilized. the invasion of ukraine has led to protests and demonstrations