In this discussion, Natasha Lennard, a writer focused on politics and violence, explores the struggle to reshape our world by challenging established certainties like capitalism. She argues that embracing uncertainty is crucial for collective action toward a just future. The conversation delves into redefining crises as opportunities for transformation, critically examining entrenched beliefs in social justice, and the philosophical dance between certainty and doubt. Natasha emphasizes the importance of community, love, and envisioning equitable alternatives to current norms.
Challenging the certainties ingrained in society requires collective action and a redefinition of crisis as a transformative opportunity rather than a permanent state.
Embracing uncertainties enables communities to forge new meanings and disrupt oppressive norms, fostering an inclusive understanding of existence.
Deep dives
Understanding Crisis and Certainty
The conceptualization of crisis is explored, emphasizing that the term is often used casually to describe ongoing states of affairs rather than moments of rupture. It is critical to consider the historical meanings of crisis, which include both medical and eschatological interpretations. This duality prompts reflection on whether current global issues are signs of a permanent state of crisis or actual moments where significant change could occur. The conversation suggests the need to redefine our understanding of crisis to acknowledge it as a potential juncture for transformation rather than merely a descriptive term for ongoing societal challenges.
The Relationship Between Certainty and Doubt
The distinction between certainty and doubt is examined through the lens of language and collective meaning-making. It is argued that certainty does not equate to knowledge, with examples illustrating the psychological comfort found in known certainties, even if they are harmful. The conversation highlights how these certainties can restrain political discourse and action, especially regarding sensitive topics like policing and gender identity. By interrogating the certainties we hold, the discussion flows into how we can constructively engage with uncertainty to challenge oppressive norms.
Collective Action and Meaning-Making
The importance of collective action in redefining uncertainties and certainties is underscored, emphasizing that knowledge is not something passively acquired but instead forged through shared experiences. It is outlined that living differently and experimenting collectively enables communities to challenge rigid identities and norms, facilitating a more inclusive understanding of existence. Practices, rather than mere discussions, are identified as vital for creating spaces of learning that disrupt oppressive structures. The talk encourages exploring methods to initiate such collective actions, hinting at the essential role of community in fostering transformative change.
Imagining Better Certainties for the Future
The discourse concludes with a call to embrace uncertainties in order to envision and forge better certainties that can lead to more fulfilling lives. There is an acknowledgment that such transformation is challenging, as entrenched powers often resist change and uphold harmful certainties. By referencing the metaphor of riverbeds in understanding how ideologies can shift over time, the conversation reiterates the idea that while change may be slow, it is not impossible. Finally, the emphasis is placed on acting now in a way that could positively influence future generations, advocating for a proactive rather than reactive approach to societal challenges.
Remember the adage it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism?
Culture inculcates certainties—and only in living against them will we forge new possibilities, says writer Natasha Lennard. Changing the world from the ground up takes time, it takes bravery, it takes collective will to go against. Only power changes fast. But we can live in a world where people—not power—make changes.
In this wonderful discussion on certainty, doubt and reimagining the world, Natasha, author of two books on politics and violence, walks us through how we currently conceptualise crisis and certainty, and how once we have an understanding of that conceptualisation, we can become more aware of how certainties arise from collective meaning making. This is about moving the frontiers of certainty, rejecting things that we think to be certain in order to challenge, experiment, and joyously resist violent norms. This is about how we build a new world—and remember what truly is certain: love, shelter, community, joy.
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