In praise of conflict
1,436,882 views | Jonathan Marks • TEDxPSU
Conflict is bad; compromise, consensus and collaboration are good -- or so we're told. Lawyer and bioethicist Jonathan Marks challenges this conventional wisdom, showing how governments can jeopardize public health, human rights and the environment when they partner with industry. An important, timely reminder that common good and common ground are not the same thing.
Conflict is bad; compromise, consensus and collaboration are good -- or so we're told. Lawyer and bioethicist Jonathan Marks challenges this conventional wisdom, showing how governments can jeopardize public health, human rights and the environment when they partner with industry. An important, timely reminder that common good and common ground are not the same thing.
This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxPSU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.
Read more about TEDx.Remind your representative that governments should be the guardians of public health and the environment. Ask your representative what he or she is doing to protect your government — and its policies — from industry influence.
About the speaker
Jonathan Marks works at the intersections of ethics, law and policy -- writing and speaking about torture, obesity, fracking, health care and other pressing issues of our time.
Mordecai Gerstein | 1984 | Book
The Room
The Room is an ode to impermanence—or, at least, our impermanence. In this children’s book, we see a room "For Rent" as one set of tenants after another passes through it. A reminder that we do not really own the places and spaces we inhabit. We are stewards for those who will come after.
Theodore Seuss Geisel | Explore
The Complete Works of Doctor Seuss
The Complete Works of Doctor Seuss could keep an ethicist busy for years. Two stories close to the themes of this TED talk are Horton Hears a Who ("A person’s a person no matter how small!") and The Lorax.
Mark Twain | 1899 | Book
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
A cautionary tale about the temptations of wealth in a town proud of its reputation for incorruptibility.
C.S.Lewis | 1944 | Article
"The Inner Ring"
This lecture cautions us about the perils of the desire to gain admission to an inner circle (or "ring"). Lewis argues persuasively that it can make "a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things."
Shirley Jackson | The New Yorker, 1948 | Article
"The Lottery"
"The Lottery" invites us to interrogate our secular rituals. A recent graphic adaptation by the author’s grandson has drawn renewed attention to the story. But the original text remains a compelling read even (or especially) now.
Gabriel Garcia Márquez | Vintage, 1982 | Book
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
A literary case study exploring the complicity of a community: a town of bystanders to an "honor killing."
Dave Eggers | Vintage Books, 2013 | Book
The Circle
Every generation creates its dystopia. This is ours. "Public-private leads to private-private," Eggers writes, "and soon you have the Circle running most or even all government services, with incredible private sector efficiency and an insatiable appetite. Everyone becomes a citizen of the Circle."
Alejandro Zambra | 2016 | Book
Multiple Choice
A seriously playful (quizzical?!) book that asks the reader to make parts of its narrative disappear. It brings to mind "the disappeared"—Chileans who did not fit with the state’s narrative under Pinochet. The book invites us to ask who shapes the narratives of our own time and place.
Directed by David Yates, Written by Richard Curtis | 2005 | Watch
The Girl in the Cafe
The Girl in the Cafe explores the ethics of proximity and the ethics of compromise in international affairs. No one embodies discomfort better than Bill Nighy in this poignant movie with Kelly MacDonald. It spurs us to action—and makes us feel discomfort if we fail to act.
| Explore
Serious reading
For "serious" reading, see this working paper series launched by Lawrence Lessig.
About TEDx
TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." It supports independent organizers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community.
This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxPSU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.
Read more about TEDx.Remind your representative that governments should be the guardians of public health and the environment. Ask your representative what he or she is doing to protect your government — and its policies — from industry influence.