The idea of ancient wisdom applied to modern activism is not a new one. But the way we think has to change.

Here’s an amazing fact: It’s 2016 and humanity is collectively moving toward a future that nobody wants. We are literally going somewhere that will hurt every single one of us.

In the penultimate episode of a special six-part series for the Weekly Economics Podcast, Kirsty Styles chats to James Meadway, Chief Economist at the New Economics Foundation, about how neoliberalism lives on today.

Presentism is a modern stain. It is vehement in denying all explanations of now that go back in time, wanting to start anew with such passion that the past becomes trivial. Forgetting becomes less an explicit act and more an implicit elision brought about by massive distraction.

But in reality the SDGs have a more fundamental problem: a blind spot in the thinking behind the process that warrants closer scrutiny and open discussion.