31. Tilling the soil for slow-growth, and embracing uncertainty
Complexity and contradiction in decision-making; the problem of the centrality of economics, expertise, and ‘the data’; Blitzscaling versus slow growth; moving beyond evidence, towards practice and participation, embracing uncertainty and context; fighting for the slowdown
“Be slow. Let this distract you. Let it change how you think and how you see the world. Because the world is our work.” — Aisha S. Ahmad
When I starting typing this piece in June 2020, to the crackle of a Swedish Radio report describing protests here in Stockholm following the killing of George Floyd back in May, we were confronted by the fact that African Americans have died from COVID-19 at almost three times the rate of white people. (In Kansas, black residents were dying at seven times the rate of whites.) In the UK, Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority groups were twice as likely to die from COVID-19, compared to the general population. Of the first 15 people to die from the coronavirus in Stockholm, six were Somali immigrants. Beyond race, those with respiratory illnesses…
