Trans activism, transhumanising, economic transition. Proxies for vision & the lost soul of politics

Mark Vernon - Talks and Thoughts

Three “trans” issues seem to be proxies for vision in contemporary politics, feeding the sense of despair and disillusion.
Trans activism, which is not the same as trans pathology.
Transhumanising, the techno-utopian dream of tomorrow.
Transitioning the economy, moving from extractive consumption.
All three are about qualities of relationship:
- to our bodies
- to our minds
- to the rest of the natural world.
And I wonder if all three are missing a common element: an understanding of soul.
I draw on thoughts made by Rowan Williams at the Realisation Festival 2024.
My previous thoughts on disillusionment in politics can be found in my feed, too, looking at Plato on beauty, Aristotle on ethics, Jesus on being in the world but not of it, Dante on civilisational decline, Blake on abstraction, and Barfield on literalism.