World Views

Oasis changing lives through football.

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Oasis Founder Clifford Martinus has a contagious passion for sport and community. This is evident in the work done at Oasis Place with his belief that the connection to a team, fair play and sport can support an individual in overcoming the odds, both personal and social. This South African non-profit creates positive personal development opportunities for youth from marginalised backgrounds.

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Latest Posts in World Views

The Biosocial Contract, Part 2: Some Policy Implications

 
An ideology without a concrete, programmatic plan for how to realize its objectives is merely rhetoric, or fantasy, or perhaps even sophistry.  It’s only when you spell out the social, economic and political implications of your vision that you allow its merits, and practicality (and political viability) to be tested in the real world.  Marxism was extremely vague and permitted the likes of Lenin, Stalin, and Mao to fashion their own political agendas.  Modern libertarianism, likewise, comes in a bewildering array of sometimes contradictory views.  Some libertarians seem to take a piecemeal approach (in this country at least), focusing on such specific political issues as legalizing marijuana, gay/lesbian/transgender rights, Obamacare, etc.

The Biosocial Contract (Part 1): An Ideology for the Fair Society

 
It’s not what you think.  In the age of texting and tweets, our whole society seems to suffer from an attention deficit disorder.  So, let me begin with a disclaimer.  A Biosocial Contract (or Biosocialism for short) has nothing to do with socialism in any one of its many different forms.  If anything, its philosophical roots could be traced back to Plato’s Republic and The Laws (I’ll explain later on).  In fact, the theoretical foundation and basic assumptions of Biosocialism are rooted in evolutionary biology and the emerging science of human nature – quite unlike the other “isms” that are out there in our politics.

“Us” Versus “Them”: The Tribalism Trap

 
One of the great contradictions of human psychology is our notorious double-standard with respect to how we treat others, as a rule.  If a person is viewed as being one of “us” – a member of our group, or our religious faith, or our nation – we are predisposed to cooperate with them, to empathize with their hardships, come to their assistance if needed, and sometimes even sacrifice our lives for them.  Because they are members of our “tribe”, we view them as sharing a common fate.  

Pilgrimage

This is the year for me to plan a pilgrimage. It’s not that I want to go anywhere in particular. The pilgrimage could simply take place within the far reaching corners of my mind.  For some time, all of my life really, I have often pondered the notion of whether I have a destiny.  And deep down inside when I pose this question, I know I do. Destiny. Making my mark. It all belongs to me. And to all of you.


Global Governance from the Ground Up: A Biological Perspective

The most obvious and universally accepted goal for global governance -- to keep (or restore) the peace between nations -- is far too narrowly framed within the context of the emerging global challenges of population growth, climate change, environmental degradation, resource depletion, and resurgent nationalism.   The ecological and political underpinnings for global governance and social peace in our increasingly interdependent global...