Towards a Moral Revolution

I must be honest, I've become increasingly demoralised by the criminal justice picture emerging on a daily basis, together with no sign of hope for the Probation Service returning to something approaching the force for good it once was. Having to admit failure is never an easy thing to do and I've always had the naive belief that a blog could be part of trying to make things better. Surely the force of sound argument, evidence and testimony can change things?

Our recent discussions surrounding morality have very neatly brought us to the BBC's Reith lectures and a tantalising notion of hope in the offing. I urge readers to come along on this journey. I didn't catch the first broadcast on Tuesday, but listened to the linear repeat last night. It's good and it's promising:-

"What we need now is not just better policies or better politicians. We need a moral revolution. We need to revive an ancient idea, almost laughable in today's climate, that the purpose of power is to do good. And that is the goal of this lecture series. To argue that the most urgent transformation of our time is not technological or geopolitical or industrial, but moral. We need a new kind of ambition, not for status, or wealth, or fame, but for integrity, courage, and public service, a moral ambition. This may sound.....   And yet, it's precisely because things can get much worse that they can also get much better. History is not just a record of the declines. It's also full of astonishing turnarounds. In my next Reith Lecture, I will show how moral revolutions have shaped the past and how we can make it happen again."

The transcript indicates a missing word, so I used AI to sort it:-

"The most likely missing word is "controversial" or another word with a similar meaning, as the full sentence would be: "This may sound controversial, and yet, it's precisely because things can get much worse that they can also get much better." The statement suggests that the potential for extreme negative outcomes provides the necessary impetus for significant positive change."

The transcript can be found here and all episodes here.