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Moderation
Three recent broadcasts – a travelogue and two news stories – have reminded me of a concept rooted in Greek philosophy and and for a time prominent in English thought. The concept is moderation in all things. The travelogue, shown on the BBC a few weeks ago, followed Simon Reeve across the Kalahari Desert in…
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Optimism and ostrichism
“A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist“ BBC series “Yes, Minister”, 1982 Positivity matters. But so does realism. We struggle to combine the two. A few years ago, Stephen Sackur – presenter of HARDtalk for two decades before the BBC decided to scrap it earlier this year – interviewed the environmentalist, George Monbiot.…