Politics

Power requires oppression. In order to be powerful, you have to stand upon something. Strength comes from within. We are seeing the emergence of new political organisms with strength not power at the core. From Moscow to Hong Kong and India to the United States, powerless organisations are creating strong governance without power.

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

The idea of dialogue is overrated- sometimes you have to fight. There are certain issues we mustn't depoliticise, sometimes we must fight, and sometimes that fight is physical… that's just reality. As for 'building bridges' with fascists, sometimes there are no bridges, you cannot befriend someone who is trying to kill you.

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

The will to live together is the fundamental pillar that keeps society going- and that pillar is now under threat. This new messy form of fascism that we have been subjected to in several countries is damaging these fundaments. We are losing the will to live together… What will we do when we lose the will to live together? That's one of the fundamental questions of our time.

Turkish journalist, author, and political commentator known for critical writings on democracy

The first thing we need is activism. Corruption is a system, and to fight it we must first change the mindset of the population, and that can only happen through activism, through being present in politics, through being elected. You have to be in the media, you have to have a voice, you have to be able to convey your message strongly.

Former Colombian Presidential Candidate & Hostage Rescue Survivor

There's a cliché that astronauts don't see borders- but we do. The India-Pakistan border is clearly visible from space, as is the North-South Korea border. You can see our politics playing out – you can see the glow of humanity thriving, and the absence of light where it doesn't. We need to figure out our politics – it really determines the quality of life for all.

NASA Astronaut & International Space Station Commander

Governments need to use their money to develop the future, not recover the past. We have to take this chance, if we don't, we're really going to be in trouble.

Swiss Adventurer & Pilot of Solar-Powered Aircraft Solar Impulse

Distrust in government is very dangerous – what follows is the ability for authoritarian and totalitarian forms of government to take control, and that doesn't do anybody, any good.

Chief Innovation Officer of the White House & Open Government Advocate

We need to shift our thinking about what government does, and what civil servants do, away from this relentless focus on policy and ideology and onto project management and problem solving.

Chief Innovation Officer of the White House & Open Government Advocate

We don't need bigger or smaller government; we need better government. A leaner, more agile, more innovative government can solve problems faster, without necessitating more money being spent or the overall size of government increasing. This isn't a left or right issue; I think we can all agree on the fact that we want efficient government.

Chief Innovation Officer of the White House & Open Government Advocate

Most people do not realise what will happen when they cross the divide- they've already accepted a story about who's on the other side, and have already decided that the other is frightening, delusional and dangerous. In truth, we are all confused. This era is nothing if not confusing. We all see some things with clarity, we all see some things upside down, and we all have blind-spots.

Evolutionary biologist and podcaster known for critical COVID-19 vaccine commentary

Walls are seductive though… what politician hasn't said, 'I can make it like the old-days again…' Bridges sound harder – how do you build them? What will they cost? Who will pay? In truth, build walls almost always yields a negative result.

Dean of Columbia Business School & Economic Policy Advisor

The genius of the classical economists was to think of economics and politics as the same. Remember, in Smiths' Day, there was no economics faculty, it was political economy. We may need to go back to that.

Dean of Columbia Business School & Economic Policy Advisor

Whether it's in economics, politics, or wider society, there's a debate about capitalism versus socialism; but I don't really think that's what's happening. If you look at the populist undercurrents around the world- it's really about walls & bridges. When there are big changes in the economy – like globalisation or technological change, the simple thing to tell voters is, 'we'll build a wall to protect you against those changes…' what you really need however, is bridges.

Dean of Columbia Business School & Economic Policy Advisor

There's a delicate balance between making sure our values are encoded in these technologies as they come out- and not constraining them so much that we lose the technological race to other nations who don't hold our values.

Dean of Cornell University's Blavatnik School of Engineering

We have engineered a world where going into leadership or public office creates huge worry. That's a problem as it means that the people who go forward for these roles are those for whom power is the reward, not doing the work.

Political scientist & author specializing in authoritarianism and democracy

So many of our systems of power are reliant on people putting themselves forward and guess what- people who are power-hungry will put themselves forward for positions of power. We need to seek out people not just rely on self-selection. We need to headhunt people who have demonstrated leadership capability and integrity rather than just relying on those who speak well or who are members of the right 'club.'

Political scientist & author specializing in authoritarianism and democracy