21st century enlightenment - the (very) first draft

I have managed to write a first draft of the first half of my 21st century enlightenment lecture. I have set up a wiki of the text so that my wonderful readers can post their comments directly into the text. I intend over the next six days to write the second half (which is there in note form at present) so I have a working draft by next Monday. I then want to spend the next two weeks knocking it around and doing some focussed reading which addresses the major weaknesses in the argument. This leaves me the final week of May to write draft two and the first weeks of June to ask for final comments get the pamphlet printed and start to prepare for the lecture on June 17th. In asking for more comments I only ask that readers remember that this is a narrative to set along side the RSA’s new strapline - it isn’t a new theory of the world or a piece of deeply researched scholarship. I’m hoping for an argument that stacks up – albeit at a high level of abstraction - that makes the RSA’s vision feel vivid and exciting and which provokes a positive response from at least some opinion formers and social commentators.

I am also very grateful to David Price, co-founder of Debategraph, who has put together this alternative way of following the discussion.