«It’s not my fault». «They misconstrued me». «I’m a victim of circumstance». New mantras of an age, ours, in which the throne stands empty, as our tragic everyman Fantozzi knows all too well. In an excursus on the Imperative of Responsibility and its disappearance – from Netflix to Jonas – Raffaele Alberto Ventura maps out a way forward: to reclaim it. Always.
At the Museum of Empathy you literally walk in someone else’s shoes, but metaphorically, you step into the future: the one we’ll leave to our descendants. Roman Krznaric invites us to become good ancestors, cultivating an alternative view and nurturing our acorn-brain. From carpe diem to carpite diem: let’s seize the moment, and let’s do it together.
From Borges to the London Underground, from behavioural design to alternative metrics (BES, HDI, ESG): economic responsibility becomes a compass in uncertain times. Luciano Canova sketches out an economy of meaning, where GDP falls short and critical thinking drives change. Tend your own garden, Voltaire said. Today, it’s an act of responsibility.
Responsibility is the fire of art. And art seems to have forgotten it. But the D’Innocenzo Brothers walk through the flames, between lacerating poetry and images disturbingly beautiful. Among the most acclaimed and essential voices in contemporary international cinema, their work is cerebral concussion. In the age of comfort and cringe, they remind us: the most guilty risk is not risking at all.
The Food Forest Ketelbroek is the beating heart of a new ecology of thought. Emile van der Staak moves through it with the radical vision of botanical gastronomy: fewer animals, more plants, more future, radical responsibility and imagination. From Chinese mahogany to the inner rhythm of the forest, every creation is a political act. And here, to seduce means to transform.
He’s the organic farmer who revolutionised delivery (and the entire agricultural system) in the UK: Guy Watson created Riverford by challenging markets, profits, and conventions. True luxury is knowing where to put down roots: today the company is 100% employee-owned. A political act, before a business one. Because responsibility, when it’s a choice and not a reflex, is something you share.