Is “longtermism” the cure or the sickness?
Politicians need to practice precaution and overcome their tendencies to look no further than the next election.
Precautionary Principle
What would a precautionary approach to the coronavirus look like?
This article was first published on Medium. Executive summary Are the historical precedents helpful when thinking about COVID-19? Answer: Not very. It is highly-likely that these precedents are, rather, tending to give us false reassurance. COVID-19 may well become a…
How to save the Precautionary Principle: Some thoughts for Lords and Ladies
By Victor Anderson and Rupert Read. This article was first published on Medium. The Precautionary Principle (PP) aims to ensure a high level of environmental protection through preventative decision-taking in the case of risk and particularly of uncertainty. It is…
The Precautionary Principle: the basis of a post-GMO ethic
This article was first published in The Ecologist. A swathe of Ecologist articles have recently considered various different aspects of the case against GM crops. The purpose of the current article is slightly different. It is to take a step…
Why I had to tell my students that I fear for them
This article was first published on Medium. You can also watch a lightly-edited version of my ‘welcoming address’ to new 1st year students at the University of East Anglia on YouTube. Welcome to University! Welcome to perhaps the most amazing…
How should regulators deal with uncertainty? Insights from the Precautionary Principle
By Ian Webb, David Baumslag and Rupert Read. This article was first published in Bank Underground. One September morning, the Lord Mayor of London was called to inspect a fire that had recently started in the City. Believing that it…
Are some risks just too big too take?
This article was first published in UEA. What is the Precautionary Principle? The Precautionary Principle states that where any action has the potential to cause widespread harm, the burden of proof concerning the absence of harm falls on those advocating…
Precaution vs Promethean: The philosophical dividing line that will define 21st century politics
This article was first published in Philosopher’s Magazine. In the twentieth century, ideological dispute focussed on the battle between Left and Right, Labour and Capital. That struggle is still very relevant. But it’s become clear that it’s only one part…
What philosophy can tell us about dealing with uncertainty, systemic risk and potential catastrophe
This article was first published on the LSE blog. The Philippines Supreme Court recently made a worldwide landmark decision, from a jurisprudential point of view, invoking for the first time ever the precautionary principle as a decisive basis for acting…
The Storm and the butterfly
This article was first published in IAI News. In the 19th and 20th centuries, standard economic models assumed that people would act in a rational and predictable manner. These models are flawed, of course, for if modern psychology has taught…
Philippines GMO ban is the Precautionary Principle in action
By Rupert Read and David Burnham. This article was first published in The Ecologist. As reported recently on The Ecologist, The Philippines has banned GM crop trials until further notice. The GM-testing-mega-coprorations are going to have to find a new…
Climate science is to geo-engineering as genetics is to GM food
This article was first published in Respublica. Now, I have of course nothing against engineering per se. But whether a form of engineering/technology should be adopted or not ought always to be prima facie an open question. A question to…