45: Craig Murphy and Jonathan Rowson – Global Politics and the Metacrisis

In this conversation, Craig and Jonathan reflect on different flavours of crisis, liberal delusion, ideological externalities, relational interiority, and much more.

Craig Murphy and Jonathan Rowson join us for a dialogue on global politics and the metacrisis, using as a springboard for this conversation the essay ‘Prefixing the World: Why the polycrisis is a permacrisis, which is actually a metacrisis, which is not really a crisis at all’, published by Jonathan on his Substack blog in late 2023. Craig recently participated in a panel on Crisis in Global Governance at the International Studies Association annual meeting where he engaged with Jonathan’s work in his remarks, seeing certain affinities between Jonathan’s claim that all global problems of the moment are connected to a single source, a single metacrisis and Craig’s own insights into the importance of grappling with the possible interconnections across global problems if problem solvers are going to develop the kind of complex solidarity that is likely to be essential to any adequate response to the daunting challenges of our times. We were honoured to be able to bring these two distinguished scholars and authors together for a far-reaching and deeply meaningful conversation.

Craig Murphy is Betty Freyhof Johnson ’44 Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Wellesley College and is a leading light in the fields of international relations and political science, known particularly for his pioneering research on global governance. His academic work is often viewed through a historical lens, providing an empirically rich analysis of the evolution and significance of international organisations over time. Murphy’s seminal book ‘International Organization and Industrial Change: Global Governance since 1850’, published in 1994 is a cornerstone in the study of international organisations and their historical genesis and ongoing role in shaping global trade and economics. His theoretical orientation blends elements of historical sociology with IR, emphasising the importance of understanding historical context to fully grasp the complexities of contemporary global governance. Craig was the recipient of the Distinguished Senior Scholar Award presented by the International Studies Association at their 2024 Annual Conference.

Jonathan Rowson is Co-founder and Chief Executive of Perspectiva, which is a collective of scholars, artists and activists who produce and publish outputs concerned with understanding the relationship between systems, souls and society in theory and practice. He was previously Director of the Social Brain Centre at the RSA where he authored a range of influential research reports on behaviour change, climate change and spirituality, and curated and chaired a range of related events. Jonathan is an applied philosopher with degrees from Oxford, Harvard and Bristol Universities, an author of five books, a contributor to the New York Times and New Statesman, an Open Society Fellow, and a Fellow at the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity at the University of Surrey. He is also a Chess Grandmaster and three-time British chess champion and considers the game an enduring source of inspiration.

Craig’s official website profile can be found here.

Jonathan’s profile can be found on the Perspectiva website.

He tweets @Jonathan_Rowson

His essays can also be read at Substack.

We discussed:

Ursula Le Guin, ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’, 1973.

Geoff Mann, ‘It Was Not Supposed to End This Way’, August 2019.

See our podcast conversation Geoff Mann here.

Craig Murphy, ‘Leadership, Global Governance, and Peace’, November 2018.

Craig Murphy, ‘Engineering Rules’, 2024.

Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry of the Future.

Jonathan Rowson, ‘Prefixing the World,’ September 2023.