Category: Public Heath

  • ‘He’s Building a Concentration Camp’: Fears Grow as Images Emerge of Offshore Prison at Gitmo

    ‘He’s Building a Concentration Camp’: Fears Grow as Images Emerge of Offshore Prison at Gitmo

    BY JON QUEALLY Fears are growing that the offshore U.S. detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, are an ominous sign of what President Donald Trump has in store as he further disregards the rule of law and normalizes actions that previously would have been unthinkable or faces immediate, bipartisan opposition in Congress. After the first pictures emerged…

  • The Enshittification of Government

    The Enshittification of Government

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR The enshittification of government refers to the decay of government systems and institutions that were originally designed to serve the Common Good. Over time, they become corrupted, dysfunctional, and, in many cases, exploitative — benefiting a small elite while abandoning the needs of the public.. I borrowed the phrase from Cory Doctorow…

  • What is Crapitalism?

    What is Crapitalism?

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR CRAPITALISM describes the negative aspects of capitalism when it becomes dysfunctional, exploitative, or excessively focused on profit at the expense of the Common Good: Is your business following Crapitalism’s degenerative playbook? Or is it working to regenerate the Common Good? Christian Sarkar is an author, artist, and activist consultant. He is a co-founder of the Regenerative Marketing…

  • Frankenpolitics: An Interview with George Tsakraklides

    Frankenpolitics: An Interview with George Tsakraklides

    George Tsakraklides has a diverse background in the sciences, having trained in molecular biology, chemistry, food science, and Earth sciences. He has also worked in data analytics and marketing sciences for some of the world’s largest corporations, giving him a front-row seat to some of the most profit-driven and exploitative aspects of human society. After…

  • WICKED7: Where do the US Presidential candidates stand on solving the world’s most urgent problems?

    WICKED7: Where do the US Presidential candidates stand on solving the world’s most urgent problems?

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR and PHILIP KOTLER Which candidate offers the best chance of actually working on the world’s most urgent problems? Which candidate would make things worse? Let’s give the US Presidential candidates the Wicked7 assessment – clarifying their positions on the seven most urgent problems facing us today. Wait, what is the Wicked7 assessment?…

  • Water Under Siege: Corporate Control vs. Community Rights

    Water Under Siege: Corporate Control vs. Community Rights

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR Jef Teugels invites us to explore the critical issues surrounding modern water management, focusing on the increasing commercialization of water and its implications for equity, sustainability, and indigenous rights. DOWNLOAD PDF >> Teugel’s essay – Water Under Siege: Corporate Control vs. Community Rights – examines how corporate interests and governmental policies almost…

  • Food Insecurity: Serious Challenges Ahead

    Food Insecurity: Serious Challenges Ahead

    By CHRISTIAN SARKAR Food insecurity, which refers to the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, can result from a complex interplay of various factors. What are the causes of food insecurity? The main reasons include: Food insecurity is a multifaceted challenge that requires a holistic approach involving governments, international…

  • Steel Pulse: “Only One World (Wicked Problems)”

    Steel Pulse: “Only One World (Wicked Problems)”

    On this, the last day of COP26, Grammy-winning legends Steel Pulse have a message for us: we must come together to tackle the world’s wickedest problems – because there is no Planet B. What can we do to bring people together in our communities? How can we unite across the walls of hate and mistrust…

  • Webinar: Population & Migration

    Webinar: Population & Migration

    With us for the webinar – a group of dynamic Palermitans: – Leoluca Orlando. As Mayor of Palermo, Orlando’s extraordinary vision and courage has changed our understanding of immigration, tolerance, and the fight against corruption. – Claudio Arestivo. A co-founder of Moltivolti – a unique regenerative business – which serves as an example for the…

  • WEBINAR: “Health & Livelihood”

    WEBINAR: “Health & Livelihood”

    Join us as we welcome: Stuart Hart – a leading authority on the implications of environment and poverty for business strategy. Hart is the Founder and President of  Enterprise for a Sustainable World Bob Freling – Executive Director at Solar Electric Light Fund, Freling developed the “solar village development model” – a wholistic community-based approach to development.…

  • WEBINAR: “Work & Tech”

    WEBINAR: “Work & Tech”

    Our webinar on the issues facing the future of work and tech >>

  • The Death of Nature: Deforestation

    The Death of Nature: Deforestation

    The problem of deforestation mapped out by Laura Galdi and Chiara Falvo. Details here >>

  • WEBINAR: “Power & Corruption”

    WEBINAR: “Power & Corruption”

    REPLAY >> Join our guests as we discuss – “Power & Corruption” with: Obiageli “Aunty Oby” Ezekwesili, a former vice president of the World Bank (African Region), co-founder and founding director of Transparency International, co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement and has also served twice as Federal Minister in Nigeria. Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, the Founder and Honorary…

  • The Lost Children of the Philippines

    The Lost Children of the Philippines

    BY KARTHIGA RATNAM, EMERALD PASFIELD, AND ARYSSA YOON “She listened to the silence. Her first thought was relief. He’s gone. Her second thought was utter devastation. He didn’t kill me.” ― Catherine Brusk, What Love Washed Up Have you ever been stuck in an elevator for a few minutes? You must have experienced a feeling of helplessness,…

  • The Movement of Movements: A Last Chance to Save the Planet?

    The Movement of Movements: A Last Chance to Save the Planet?

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR, KARTHIGA RATNAM, & PHILIP KOTLER On this, the 90th birthday of Philip Kotler, we ask the world to come together to save the future. One way to do this is to build a “movement of movements.“ It’s time to put aside our toys – our ideologies and guns – and look at…

  • Today: Webinar on Inequality

    Today: Webinar on Inequality

    Join Philip Kotler and Christian Sarkar as they kickoff the second challenge: Inequality. The webinar includes a special presentation by Karthi Ratnam and Aryssa Yoon on Gender Inequality and Climate Change.

  • Climate Change: what would 4°C of global warming feel like?

    Climate Change: what would 4°C of global warming feel like?

    BY ROBERT WILBY, Loughborough University Another year, another climate record broken. Globally, 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest year ever recorded. This was all the more remarkable given that cool conditions in the Pacific Ocean – known as La Niña – began to emerge in the second half of the year. The Earth’s mean…

  • The Powerlessness of the UN

    The Powerlessness of the UN

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR The only power the United Nations has is the “power of persuasion” – and that doesn’t seem to be working too well. Here’s a profound interview with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about everything from climate change to vaccine nationalism (h/t Naveen Srivastava): Besides powerlessness, a second powerful idea we hear about is…

  • The Death of Nature

    The Death of Nature

    BY JEF TEUGELS AND KARTHIGA RATNAM It is amazing how many definitions Merriam-Webster offers for the word ‘nature’, and how they vary from the inherent character or constitution of persons and things up to the external world in its entirety.  The Cambridge dictionary presents fewer definitions and defines nature as “all the animals, plants, rocks,…

  • Food Waste and The Death of Nature

    Food Waste and The Death of Nature

    Our second “map” of the World’s Wicked Problems is about the impact of food (production, handling, storage, consumption) on Nature… Interested? Here’s how you can participate >>

  • Webinar: How Jobs-to-be-Done can help solve the unmet needs of society

    Webinar: How Jobs-to-be-Done can help solve the unmet needs of society

    Here’s the replay of the webinar ‘How Jobs-to-be-Done can help solve the unmet needs of society’ with Strategyn’s Tony Ulwick:

  • Mapping the World’s Wicked Problems. Kickoff – April 1, 2021

    Mapping the World’s Wicked Problems. Kickoff – April 1, 2021

    The Wicked 7 Project is mapping the World’s Wicked Problems to understand the causes and then see how we can work together to find solutions. We have divided the World’s Wicked Problems in to seven categories – Death of Nature, Inequality, Hate & Conflict, Power & Corruption, Work & Tech, Health & Livelihood, and Population…

  • The Unmet Needs of Society: Introducing Multi-stakeholder Jobs to be Done

    The Unmet Needs of Society: Introducing Multi-stakeholder Jobs to be Done

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR, ANTHONY ULWICK and PHILIP KOTLER In his e-pamphlet — Rebalancing Society — Henry Mintzberg points out that a balanced society can be thought of as “sitting on a stool with three sturdy legs: a public sector of respected governments, to provide many of our protections (such as policing and regulating); a private…

  • It’s Time to Depoliticize Decision-Making

    It’s Time to Depoliticize Decision-Making

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR & PHILIP KOTLER UPDATE: On the day we published this article, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott lifted Texas’ mask mandate – declaring the state 100% open for business. Health experts warned it was too soon. Texas Was Warned a Decade Ago Its Grid Was Unready for Cold reads the headline in Bloomberg Green…

  • High-Tech Holistic Medicine: Closing The Gaps Between Sick-Care And Whole-Person Care

    High-Tech Holistic Medicine: Closing The Gaps Between Sick-Care And Whole-Person Care

    BY TRISHA SWIFT In America, sick-care is “doing business as” health care, which is precisely why our health care system is so costly, error prone and fragmented. To be healthy, we must begin to look at ourselves as a whole person and account for all the things that make us unique. This is a different…

  • What is Food Insecurity?

    What is Food Insecurity?

    BY CAITLIN CASPI, University of Connecticut Among the many striking images from the pandemic is an aerial photo showing cars in seemingly endless rows lined up at a food bank in San Antonio, Texas. A jarring awareness of food insecurity in the U.S. has accompanied the health and financial concerns brought on by the COVID-19…

  • In 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish

    In 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish

    BY JEF TEUGELS Introduction: Made in Belgium On November 17, 1909, the Belgium-born Dr. Leo H. Baekeland explained Bakelite at the Franklin Institute (Baekeland, 1910).  PlasticsEurope, the Association of Plastics Manufacturers, describes Bakelite as the first real synthetic and mass-produced plastic (PlasticsEurope, 2020). However, plastic is a form of fossil fuel since natural resources like gas…

  • From corona anxiety towards a new Enlightenment – Why a return to normal is not a meaningful option

    From corona anxiety towards a new Enlightenment – Why a return to normal is not a meaningful option

    BY GUIDO PALAZZO Why do societies collapse? Jared Diamond (2005) finds a rather simple, but frightening, explanation. When we are in a crisis and we do not know what to do, we tend to reinforce established routines. Sometimes, those routines make things worse. These might even be the driving force of the crisis and, as…

  • The Wicked 7: The APO Interview

    The Wicked 7: The APO Interview

    Watch: The Asian Productivity Organization’s David Sehyeon Baek interviews Christian Sarkar >>

  • How to See: When Narratives Create Reality

    How to See: When Narratives Create Reality

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR AND PHILIP KOTLER In this video – more timely today than ever – James Baldwin explains that “reality” depends on our point of view: How you view the world is largely shaped by where you are in it. The cultural narrative we believe in dictates our understanding of reality: This makes our…

  • Interlock USA: COVID, Racism, the Economy, and Climate Change

    Interlock USA: COVID, Racism, the Economy, and Climate Change

    BY CHRISTIAN SARKAR & PHILIP KOTLER The USA is showing us how wicked problems are interlocked. How one feeds the other and the next and the next. In a society where power is corrupt, society loses its legitimacy. Not only is the social contract shredded, but so is our Constitution. The news is making our…

  • Towards a Virtuous Economy

    Towards a Virtuous Economy

    CHRISTIAN SARKAR & PHILIP KOTLER If anything, COVID-19 has opened our eyes to the startling weakness of our current economic system – both in the US and around the world. The “new normal” is simply another way of asking – what does a recovery, a return to business-as-usual look like? The economy was already failing,…

  • Selecting the Wicked 7

    Selecting the Wicked 7

    CHRISTIAN SARKAR & PHILIP KOTLER The process of selecting seven wicked problems was not one we took lightly. In our book on Brand Activism, we asked: What are the most urgent issues facing society? How did we get here? What are the root causes? What must be done now? How can we find common ground?…

  • What is a Wicked Problem?

    What is a Wicked Problem?

    CHRISTIAN SARKAR & PHILIP KOTLER To begin, here’s the article which introduced the world to the concept of “wicked problems” >> Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning by Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber.  In it, we learn about the 10 properties of a wicked problem: There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem. Wicked problems have no stopping rule.  Solutions to…

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