STWR - Share The World's Resources

The most widely endorsed decision-making systems, such as representative and referendum democracy, have serious flaws. Political institutions must be redesigned to enable greater deliberation and participation in the making of policies, argues Stephen Shalom.

A recent study has shown that our brains respond more positively when a poor person receives a financial reward than when a rich person does. Does this mean that humans have a natural aversion to inequality and a desire to share? By Sam Pizzigati.

A new generation of scientists, scholars, and social reformers are beginning to challenge dominant narratives of human nature that inform our cultural and political debates. The notion that reason is the apex of human consciousness is giving way to an 'Age of Empathy', writes Jeremy Rifkin.

At a recent summit in Mexico, 24 Latin American governments joined with their Caribbean counterparts to create a new regional body as an alternative to the Organization of American States. Does this move represent a clear and unified statement of independence from US dominance?

Share The World’s Resources convened a book launch and panel discussion on slum growth and urban poverty in the Global South, held on Wednesday 24 February at the Amnesty International UK headquarters in London.

The push for trade liberalisation by the World Bank and IMF has contributed to increases in poverty and food insecurity in many African countries, finds a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The financial and political events of the past year have given rise to a crisis of ethics. How do we decide our values? In what ways should our economic system change? How can we build a new politics of the common good? Three thinkers present their views in The Guardian.

Given the complexity of global warming, waiting for an effective international "solution" to the problem is not feasible. It would be better to adopt a multi-scale approach to addressing climate change, starting at the local level, argues Elinor Ostrom.

With resource scarcity and climate change looming on the horizon, the debate on how population growth is impacting the environment and what to do about it is intensifying. Three commentators present their views in the New Internationalist.

While proponents of biotechnology claim that GM crops could help tackle growing climate pressures such as water shortages, campaigners warn that the a greater use of chemicals and further deforestation may actually increase carbon emissions. Report by Friends of the Earth.