Counteracting “Greed is Good” ethos with "Catalysts of Creativity"
Broadcaster, Philip King, presented an insightful conversation at the Glucksman Gallery, Cork Thursday afternoon, 6th May 2010, focusing around the question of how Ireland can re-imagine itself in the midst of this current recession. He spoke about the transmission of music and its potential to engage with a living tradition, which can be transmitted and, in turn, can lead to personal transformation. King encouraged engagement with the arts as tools of critical reflection. Are we doing enough to encourage this process? How should we go about fostering it? The 1987 film Wall Street is best remembered for Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is Good” monologue. This is the predominant ethos in Western culture. The current economic crisis has shown that free market capitalism is not working for the majority of society. Yet failure often provides opportunities for re-thinking action. This crisis offers the perfect opportunity to reflect on how the dominant ethos can be questioned and re-assessed. Educa...