Comment: Rory Stewart says something similar.A real society comprises hundreds of millions of social beings, each with a trillion-synapse brain, who pursue their well-being while affecting the well-being of others in complex networks with massive positive and negative externalities, many of them historically unprecedented.
It is bound to defy any simple narrative of what will happen under a given set of rules.
A more rational approach to politics is to treat societies as ongoing experiments and open-mindedly learn the best practices, whatever part of the spectrum they come from.
Credit: Steven Pinker
Source: Enlightenment Now (Page 365 Penguin paperback edition)
Books: Steven Pinker (2)
Quotations: Steven Pinker (1)
Videos: Steven Pinker (1)
Image Credits: Pixabay
(Pixabay)In-person, 7–11 September 2026, Warbrook House, Hampshire, UK
We are living and working in conditions of uncertainty, complexity, and rapid change. Many leadership approaches still rely on control, expertise, and tools that no longer fit the realities people face.
This week-long immersive workshop brings people together to practise Conversational Leadership as a shared, lived experience. It is not a training course but a space to slow down, think together, and explore how leadership emerges through dialogue, responsibility, and real engagement.