Willy De Backer BE
@art4theark.bsky.social
Former EU journalist exploring interconnected crises reshaping our world. Digging into social-ecological security, planetary health, & justice within web of life. Deep-time optimist, envisioning posthuman futures beyond civilisation's current trajectory.
@timhowles.bsky.social I would be interested to see which angles this book takes to confront Kant's thinking with the ecological limits our civilization is running into. Will you do a review?
“Kant and Environmental Philosophy: The Climate Crisis and the Imperative of Sustainability”
Zachary Vereb
www.cambridge.org/core/books/k...
Zachary Vereb
www.cambridge.org/core/books/k...
November 16, 2025 at 6:54 PM
@timhowles.bsky.social I would be interested to see which angles this book takes to confront Kant's thinking with the ecological limits our civilization is running into. Will you do a review?
"The EU Commission launches a #DemocracyShield to protect against foreign interference, whilst its own political family forges operational majorities with the very forces undermining democratic norms."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/eus-de...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/eus-de...
The EU's Democracy Shield: protecting democracy or the system that destroys it?
The European Commission rolled out its Democracy Shield on 12 November (see Communications linked below), pledging to defend European democracy from so-called "authoritarian regimes" looking to exploi...
www.linkedin.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:25 AM
"The EU Commission launches a #DemocracyShield to protect against foreign interference, whilst its own political family forges operational majorities with the very forces undermining democratic norms."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/eus-de...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/eus-de...
"Perhaps the most urgent reason to read #Dickens now is not for literary pleasure, but for practical survival. He diagnosed our crisis 170 years ago, warning us where facts alone would lead." - read my post on what we can learn from the author's novel 'Hard Times'
www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ch...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ch...
How Charles Dickens saw our crisis coming 170 years ago
Every year in October or November, I return to my favourite classic author for a re-read of one of his novels. This year, I chose Hard Times (1854), and within pages saw how Dickens laid out the core ...
www.linkedin.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:09 PM
"Perhaps the most urgent reason to read #Dickens now is not for literary pleasure, but for practical survival. He diagnosed our crisis 170 years ago, warning us where facts alone would lead." - read my post on what we can learn from the author's novel 'Hard Times'
www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ch...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ch...
Drones boven België? Waarom stelt niemand de vraag: 'cui bono'? Wie profiteert?
Lees mijn analyse -
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
Lees mijn analyse -
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
#investigativejournalism #defensecontracts #belgium #nato #procurement #francken | Willy De Backer
Drones over Belgium: Cui Bono?
Belgium is accelerating counter-drone spending after incidents forced airport closures and overflights of Kleine-Brogel Air Base (nuclear weapons storage). Defense Mini...
www.linkedin.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Drones boven België? Waarom stelt niemand de vraag: 'cui bono'? Wie profiteert?
Lees mijn analyse -
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
Lees mijn analyse -
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
What #COP30 gets wrong about adaptation and #resilience:
"The rainforest already knows what COP30 forgets: resilience is not toughness but connection. Planetary intelligence is the wisdom of systems that listen, adapt, and re-weave life together."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/resili...
"The rainforest already knows what COP30 forgets: resilience is not toughness but connection. Planetary intelligence is the wisdom of systems that listen, adapt, and re-weave life together."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/resili...
Resilience as planetary intelligence: what COP30 misses about adaptation
COP30 is starting in Belém, Brazil. It is called "the adaptation COP.
www.linkedin.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:51 AM
What #COP30 gets wrong about adaptation and #resilience:
"The rainforest already knows what COP30 forgets: resilience is not toughness but connection. Planetary intelligence is the wisdom of systems that listen, adapt, and re-weave life together."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/resili...
"The rainforest already knows what COP30 forgets: resilience is not toughness but connection. Planetary intelligence is the wisdom of systems that listen, adapt, and re-weave life together."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/resili...
Decades of #greenpolitics have made a significant impact, but have fallen short of 'solving' our social-ecological emergency. Why is it time to move to a politics of planetary co-creation - read my latest LinkedIn post
@ecodenker.bsky.social @groenbe.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond...
@ecodenker.bsky.social @groenbe.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond...
Beyond managing nature: from green to planetary politics
Why green politics must evolve into a politics of planetary co-creation. Frederic Hanusch's recent essay "Planetary Politics Begin with Sensing Agency" helped me understand why decades of green politi...
www.linkedin.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Decades of #greenpolitics have made a significant impact, but have fallen short of 'solving' our social-ecological emergency. Why is it time to move to a politics of planetary co-creation - read my latest LinkedIn post
@ecodenker.bsky.social @groenbe.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond...
@ecodenker.bsky.social @groenbe.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond...
It is a bit tragic to see how progressives are looking for the new Messiah (#Jetten in the Netherlands, #Mamdani in the US) while they still fail to understand why the authoritarian turn happened and what their role in this trend was/is.
November 5, 2025 at 11:11 AM
It is a bit tragic to see how progressives are looking for the new Messiah (#Jetten in the Netherlands, #Mamdani in the US) while they still fail to understand why the authoritarian turn happened and what their role in this trend was/is.
Small edit: Europe's public debt requires revision of huge defence spending and 'explosive' fossil fuel subsidies. Sorry, Mr Putin, no money for war now. Postpone please.
#fiscalconsolidation #debt @etuc-ces.bsky.social
#fiscalconsolidation #debt @etuc-ces.bsky.social
Europe’s ‘explosive’ public debt requires revision of social contract, IMF warns
Europe’s ‘explosive’ public debt requires revision of social contract, IMF warns
“Radical fiscal measures” will be needed in many EU countries, the Fund says
dlvr.it
November 5, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Small edit: Europe's public debt requires revision of huge defence spending and 'explosive' fossil fuel subsidies. Sorry, Mr Putin, no money for war now. Postpone please.
#fiscalconsolidation #debt @etuc-ces.bsky.social
#fiscalconsolidation #debt @etuc-ces.bsky.social
"Ethics may guide technology, but can it restrain a global race for power?" My comment on an article by Nathan Gardels of @noemamag.com on the Vatican and #AI
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
‘Only God Can Save Us’ | Willy De Backer
The Vatican wants to govern AI. Silicon Valley holds the power.
Ethics may guide technology, but can it restrain a global race for power?
Journalist Nathan Gardels, reporting from a recent Vatican c...
www.linkedin.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:31 AM
"Ethics may guide technology, but can it restrain a global race for power?" My comment on an article by Nathan Gardels of @noemamag.com on the Vatican and #AI
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
"Language trapped us tens of thousands of years ago, fundamentally altering our minds. Now, artificial intelligence not only closes the cage but potentially makes escape impossible."
#AI #Golding
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/has-la...
#AI #Golding
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/has-la...
Has language trapped humanity?
Language trapped us tens of thousands of years ago, fundamentally altering our minds. Now, artificial intelligence not only closes the cage but potentially makes escape impossible.
www.linkedin.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:56 PM
"Language trapped us tens of thousands of years ago, fundamentally altering our minds. Now, artificial intelligence not only closes the cage but potentially makes escape impossible."
#AI #Golding
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/has-la...
#AI #Golding
@timhowles.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/pulse/has-la...
Correct analysis of the Dutch election results in @groene.nl - contrary to some this is NOT a return to centrist normality. "Wilders has the country where he wants it to be"
@ecodenker.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social
www.groene.nl/artikel/stra...
@ecodenker.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social
www.groene.nl/artikel/stra...
October 30, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Correct analysis of the Dutch election results in @groene.nl - contrary to some this is NOT a return to centrist normality. "Wilders has the country where he wants it to be"
@ecodenker.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social
www.groene.nl/artikel/stra...
@ecodenker.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social
www.groene.nl/artikel/stra...
Reposted by Willy De Backer BE
My new post on the Dutch elections on 29 October:
"The real question is not why the Netherlands changed. It is how long other democracies can balance prosperity, pluralism, and planetary survival before they face the same descent"
#Netherlands #Elections
www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-p...
"The real question is not why the Netherlands changed. It is how long other democracies can balance prosperity, pluralism, and planetary survival before they face the same descent"
#Netherlands #Elections
www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-p...
From progressive beacon to authoritarian vanguard: the Dutch paradox explained.
On 29 October, the Netherlands will hold parliamentary elections that may confirm a dramatic shift: the country once renowned as a bastion of progressive democracy has become a leading example of Euro...
www.linkedin.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
My new post on the Dutch elections on 29 October:
"The real question is not why the Netherlands changed. It is how long other democracies can balance prosperity, pluralism, and planetary survival before they face the same descent"
#Netherlands #Elections
www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-p...
"The real question is not why the Netherlands changed. It is how long other democracies can balance prosperity, pluralism, and planetary survival before they face the same descent"
#Netherlands #Elections
www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-p...
How did the Netherlands transform from Europe's most progressive beacon in the 1960s to the vanguard of libertarian authoritarianism now? @claesdevreese.bsky.social - are there any recent academic papers which explain this fundamental shift?
#TK2025 #Netherlands @nrc.nl
#TK2025 #Netherlands @nrc.nl
Latest poll of polls for Dutch elections 🗳️ 🚨
Multiple parties edging closer to each other. Still many undecided voters. At this point very hard to predict which party might lead government negotiations.
Source 🙏🏻 @peilingwijzer.bsky.social
#TK2025
Multiple parties edging closer to each other. Still many undecided voters. At this point very hard to predict which party might lead government negotiations.
Source 🙏🏻 @peilingwijzer.bsky.social
#TK2025
October 26, 2025 at 9:30 AM
How did the Netherlands transform from Europe's most progressive beacon in the 1960s to the vanguard of libertarian authoritarianism now? @claesdevreese.bsky.social - are there any recent academic papers which explain this fundamental shift?
#TK2025 #Netherlands @nrc.nl
#TK2025 #Netherlands @nrc.nl
Why the EU's 2026 Work Programme made me think of Daphne du Maurier's famous novel Rebecca - read my new LinkedIn post -
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
#EuropeanUnion #WorkProgramme2026 #PlanetaryBoundaries #PostGrowth #China
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
#EuropeanUnion #WorkProgramme2026 #PlanetaryBoundaries #PostGrowth #China
Europe's ‘independence moment’ and the ghost it cannot name
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." - Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca In Daphne du Maurier's famous novel Rebecca, a dead woman controls a great house without ever appearing.
www.linkedin.com
October 25, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Why the EU's 2026 Work Programme made me think of Daphne du Maurier's famous novel Rebecca - read my new LinkedIn post -
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
#EuropeanUnion #WorkProgramme2026 #PlanetaryBoundaries #PostGrowth #China
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
#EuropeanUnion #WorkProgramme2026 #PlanetaryBoundaries #PostGrowth #China
Brilliant article @nilsgilman.bsky.social on #China's #modernity & the West's 'epistemic crisis'. But what if this crisis is not about accepting 'plural modernities', but about recognising that modernity itself is hitting biophysical limits that no governance model can overcome?
China's successful development of an indigenous non-Western modernity means that the West has to come to terms with a world no longer defined by its own liberal assumptions & institutions. My latest, feat. @kaiserkuo.bsky.social & Lizzi C. Lee: nilsgilman.substack.com/p/the-great-...
The Great Reckoning of the China Debate
Lizzi Lee and Kaiser Kuo mark two poles of the West’s intellectual impasse what China’s rise means for how we define modernity
nilsgilman.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Brilliant article @nilsgilman.bsky.social on #China's #modernity & the West's 'epistemic crisis'. But what if this crisis is not about accepting 'plural modernities', but about recognising that modernity itself is hitting biophysical limits that no governance model can overcome?
My new post looks at the four futures of liberal democracy in the age of economic contraction and AI expansion: protective technocracy, democratic fascism, deliberative renewal & systemic redesign.
#Democracy #AIGovernance #DeliberativeDemocracy #PlanetaryBoundaries
www.linkedin.com/pulse/democr...
#Democracy #AIGovernance #DeliberativeDemocracy #PlanetaryBoundaries
www.linkedin.com/pulse/democr...
Democracy in the age of limits and AI
The world that gave rise to modern democracy, marked by expansion, progress, and steady growth, is gone. Liberal democracy promised better tomorrows and delivered for some, whilst extracting from the ...
www.linkedin.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:06 PM
My new post looks at the four futures of liberal democracy in the age of economic contraction and AI expansion: protective technocracy, democratic fascism, deliberative renewal & systemic redesign.
#Democracy #AIGovernance #DeliberativeDemocracy #PlanetaryBoundaries
www.linkedin.com/pulse/democr...
#Democracy #AIGovernance #DeliberativeDemocracy #PlanetaryBoundaries
www.linkedin.com/pulse/democr...
What is fascinating about this? Flood the zone with shit @timhowles.bsky.social
October 19, 2025 at 12:46 PM
What is fascinating about this? Flood the zone with shit @timhowles.bsky.social
My latest post on LinkedIn, based on Alexa Firmenich - from EarthRise to entangled Lifeworlds
#planetaryconsciousness #posthumanism
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
#planetaryconsciousness #posthumanism
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
#planetaryconsciousness #posthumanism #entanglement #morethanhuman | Willy De Backer
Beyond the astronaut’s gaze: when Earth becomes self-aware.
When astronauts took the first picture of Earth from space, the world experienced a sudden shift in consciousness. Seeing our small, fragil...
www.linkedin.com
October 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
My latest post on LinkedIn, based on Alexa Firmenich - from EarthRise to entangled Lifeworlds
#planetaryconsciousness #posthumanism
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
#planetaryconsciousness #posthumanism
www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics celebrates “innovation-driven growth”, just as the planet shows us the limits of growth itself. It’s time to rethink what innovation is for.
#PostGrowth #Sustainability #Innovation #PlanetaryBoundaries #CareEconomy #Doughnut
www.linkedin.com/pulse/last-h...
#PostGrowth #Sustainability #Innovation #PlanetaryBoundaries #CareEconomy #Doughnut
www.linkedin.com/pulse/last-h...
The last hurrah of growth economics: celebrating expansion when maturation is required
The 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt "for having explained innovation-driven economic growth." This celebration of pe...
www.linkedin.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:53 PM
This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics celebrates “innovation-driven growth”, just as the planet shows us the limits of growth itself. It’s time to rethink what innovation is for.
#PostGrowth #Sustainability #Innovation #PlanetaryBoundaries #CareEconomy #Doughnut
www.linkedin.com/pulse/last-h...
#PostGrowth #Sustainability #Innovation #PlanetaryBoundaries #CareEconomy #Doughnut
www.linkedin.com/pulse/last-h...
Compared to the dull commentators' copy/paste comments on Peace in the Middle East, this analysis by @alfatau.bsky.social provides great insights into the real plans - but where is the alternative? www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
October 14, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Compared to the dull commentators' copy/paste comments on Peace in the Middle East, this analysis by @alfatau.bsky.social provides great insights into the real plans - but where is the alternative? www.linkedin.com/posts/willy-...
Dear @camlinger.bsky.social are some of the presentations of this conference available? @onachtwey.bsky.social
Die Moderne als unerwünschtes Projekt - ein weiterer Konferenzbericht aus Basel zum Nachhören:
www.deutschlandfunk.de/gegen-modern...
@sozunibas.bsky.social
@onachtwey.bsky.social
www.deutschlandfunk.de/gegen-modern...
@sozunibas.bsky.social
@onachtwey.bsky.social
"Gegen/Moderne" - Basler Konferenz über Kulturkämpfe um die Gegenwart
www.deutschlandfunk.de
October 13, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Dear @camlinger.bsky.social are some of the presentations of this conference available? @onachtwey.bsky.social
Neoliberalism strikes again - how the so-called 'Nobel Prize' for economy was given to economists who have never heard of the fundamental laws of physics - www.linkedin.com/pulse/book-r...
@sotiriat.bsky.social @ppochet.bsky.social @kateraworth.bsky.social
@sotiriat.bsky.social @ppochet.bsky.social @kateraworth.bsky.social
October 13, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Neoliberalism strikes again - how the so-called 'Nobel Prize' for economy was given to economists who have never heard of the fundamental laws of physics - www.linkedin.com/pulse/book-r...
@sotiriat.bsky.social @ppochet.bsky.social @kateraworth.bsky.social
@sotiriat.bsky.social @ppochet.bsky.social @kateraworth.bsky.social
Europe stands at a crossroads between two paths: one that applies #AI wherever possible, and another that designs it with democratic purpose and planetary wisdom in mind.
#ApplyAI #AppropriateAI #DigitalSovereignty #PlanetaryBoundaries #AIethics
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
#ApplyAI #AppropriateAI #DigitalSovereignty #PlanetaryBoundaries #AIethics
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
Europe’s AI Crossroads: Acceleration or Planetary Wisdom?
In 1973, economist E.F.
www.linkedin.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Europe stands at a crossroads between two paths: one that applies #AI wherever possible, and another that designs it with democratic purpose and planetary wisdom in mind.
#ApplyAI #AppropriateAI #DigitalSovereignty #PlanetaryBoundaries #AIethics
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
#ApplyAI #AppropriateAI #DigitalSovereignty #PlanetaryBoundaries #AIethics
www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
Reposted by Willy De Backer BE
Nobel Prize: ‘The 2025 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”’
October 9, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Nobel Prize: ‘The 2025 #NobelPrize in Literature is awarded to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”’