Cornucopia
How do we live abundantly? Philosopher Karim Benammar explores the shift from a world of scarcity to a world of abundance. From a world of lack to a world of plenty, from surviving to living, and from struggle to possibility and freedom. Each episode, recorded on a walk, explores a concept in economics, ecology, psychology or philosophy.
Episodes
19 episodes
18 Shaping the future
In a world of scarcity, our work and organisations are focused first on surviving, and then on producing enough for a safe and comfortable life. As we are shifting to a world of abundance, doing work which is meaningful to us, and working for o...
•
Episode 18
•
30:43
17 Sisyphus revisited
The philosopher Albert Camus uses the myth of Sisyphus as a parable for human existence. We are condemned to toil endlessly, without result, like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up the hill, only to have it roll down again. This is certainly the cas...
•
Episode 17
•
27:14
16 Overflowing world
The outside world overflows our senses: we continuously see, hear, smell, taste and feel. Our mind overflows with thoughts and memories: there is constant chatter in our heads. The world is full of possibility. We continuously filter this overf...
•
32:10
15 Abundant generosity
Generosity - a virtue many of us aspire to - is not just about giving money away, or sharing tangible things. It is also generosity of spirit, magnanimity: being genuinely happy for other people's successes and fortune, rather than jealous or r...
•
Episode 15
•
31:39
14 The Joy Of Missing Out
The shift to abundance has led to an abundance of objects, of creative content, but also of possibilities and of choices. If we apply our traditional strategies when choosing, such as trial-and-error, we will be overwhelmed. We become paralysed...
•
Episode 14
•
37:21
13 A tsunami of content
Nothing illustrates the shift to abundance as powerfully as the enormous rise in creative content - music, books, videos, films, TV series - that have become available to all of us with the advent of the Internet and the smartphone. This overfl...
•
Episode 13
•
26:21
12 The sorcerer's apprentice
Nuclear weapons, greenhouse gases, plastic soups, forever chemicals, genetically modified food, viruses and animals, artificial intelligence: since the dawn of civilisation, technology has been both a blessing and a curse. The parable of the So...
•
24:28
11 The goose with the golden eggs
Nature is not scarce, but it can be destroyed. Our greatest problem is therefore not scarcity, but our wanton destruction. Ancient wisdom, in the form of the parable of the goose with the golden eggs, illustrates this wonderfully: the abundant ...
•
Episode 11
•
31:52
10 Climate positivity
Climate Positivity is a way to approach our current climate crisis from an abundance mindset. The challenge we are facing is enormous: we need to start paying back a carbon debt that we have accumulated over centuries. Furthermore, everything t...
•
Episode 10
•
32:39
09 Learning to be rich
Are you rich? Do you feel rich? What does it mean to feel rich? And what would it take for you to feel rich? I argue that we haven't learned to be rich, partly because we have been poor for most of human history, and partly because we are stuck...
•
Episode 9
•
45:27
08 Enough or plenty
If we want to share the riches of our planet equitably, it would seem that we must learn how to have enough. Many of us believe that not taking more than our fair share, and focusing on our needs rather than on endless greed, makes us a good pe...
•
25:29
07 Shame or pride
What story do we tell ourselves about humanity? A pessimistic story of shame at our shortcomings, or a story of pride at our achievements? We are faced with a paradox: while the world is objectively getting better all the time, we seem to have ...
•
Episode 7
•
35:25
06 Limitless desire
We live in a world full of consumer goods, for those who can afford them, and with a seemingly limitless desire for more consumption. But are our desires in fact limitless? Our desires for goods stem from the way in which we play the social sta...
•
37:26
05 Only growth can save the world
We need rapid economic growth for a thriving humanity on a thriving planet. Proposals for degrowth are understandable but dangerous. The best solutions for human well-being and ecological health all require and create economic growth.
•
Episode 5
•
25:08
04 Scarcity and abundance in a pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic confronted us with life-threatening scarcity of equipment and vaccines. It brought out the best - our science - and the worst - our lack of solidarity - in us. How can we shift to an abundance mindset to provide the bes...
•
Episode 4
•
25:13
03 What is scarcity?
Scarcity is a formula between needs and resources, but it leads to powerful emotions of fear and to struggle. We feel it in our lives and on a global ecological scale. How can we recognize and overcome our scarcity mindset?
•
Episode 3
•
27:15