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

Plato’s Dilemma: It Haunts Us Still

A dysfunctional government can be a matter of life-and-death, and these days they are all too common.  We should follow Plato’s sage advice. Plato’s diagnosis of the many dysfunctional kinds of government, and their root causes, still rings true, and so does his ultimate prescription. 


The “Silent Generation” Speaks Up - After 66 Years Re: Politics & Society Today

The idea of giving names to succeeding generations based on their attitude or defining relation to overall American society came about towards the end of the 20thcentury. Generally, the first generation to be referred to in this way came to be known as “The Greatest Generation” due to their contribution, perseverance and unity during World War II and the great depression. The following societal division; their younger brothers and sisters was given the name “The Silent Generation” partly as a result of the low birth rates during the depression; and they followed in rather natural unquestioning fashion the values of the preceding generation. Coming of age during the Korean War era they generally did not make too big a deal of accepting the course of events and hardships and had been taught not to make waves and to be un-complaining, hence the title, “The Silent Generation.” 


Introduction to the Social Disorder of Capability

As the indicators of the status of complicated macroscopic systems, statistically valid representative variables are of critical importance for knowing the dynamic conditions of the systems. As a few examples, in natural sciences, we have become very familiar to various physical quantities such as temperature and pressure, which can help us to predict the behavior of a natural system; in economics, we have economic indices to track economic health from different perspectives; in psychology, we have the intelligence quotient to provide a partial evaluation of the intelligent level of individuals.

Despite the convenience of using the well-known variables in academic researches and practical applications, the process of identifying the notions behind those variables could be painstaking and daunting. This article would introduce an abstract notion for the cultural dynamics, which has been greatly ignored by the world in the past.


The Climate Refugee Crisis

It’s a life-and-death threat, and it’s going to get much worse.  What can we do? There is in fact a deadly nexus of influences at work that could multiply the estimated number of refugees. This is a unique moment in the history of life on Earth, and in our own history as a species.  We must make a collective choice whether to live or die.


Re-learning How to Play Global Chess: What Would Winston Churchill Do?

There is a potentially effective international response to the rise of China as a superpower, but it will require a twenty-first century Winston Churchill with vision.  In the next decade, China is likely to challenge the United States in many ways.  Winston Churchill understood the crucial value of cooperation against a common foe.  A twenty-first century Winston Churchill, with a keen eye on the global chess board, might see the proposed “Global Government Initiative” as an opportunity to create a new political alliance.