What if the biggest problems of our time are not separate problems at all? In this episode of Matters of Consequence, Michael speaks with Fons Burger, journalist, systems thinker, farmer, and author of The Only Possible Solution: How to Shape the Future for Our Next Generations, about why climate change, inequality, and the loss of trust in institutions are symptoms of the same underlying system failures, and why fixing one crisis in isolation so often creates new problems elsewhere.
Fons has lived many lives, including editor-in-chief of a major magazine, photographer, musician, founder of an institute educating journalists in the Global South, goat farmer in Nepal, and now permaculture farmer in Spain. Out of that long journey came a simple but uncomfortable observation, the world is full of brilliant solutions, but the people behind them live in silos, each surrounded by walls too high to see over. In his book, he argues that the space between those silos is where the real work lies.
Together, Michael and Fons explore what it means to face a system crisis that has been centuries in the making, why we keep reaching for short-term fixes instead of deeper change, and how looking back at today from the year 2125 can change the decisions we make now. Fons also talks about his newborn grandson, to whom the book is dedicated, the limits of individual action, and why hope only counts when it is active.
Why listen?
Whether you work in sustainability, policy, business, or are simply trying to make sense of a world where every crisis seems connected to the next, this conversation offers a calm and clear-eyed perspective on what it takes to think in systems, and what each of us can still do. Fons' story is ultimately a reminder that the future is not something that happens to us, but something we shape, one decision at a time.
Keywords: systems thinking, interconnected crises, climate change, inequality, sustainability, holistic solutions, system change, silos, expertise, future generations, back casting, long-term thinking, active hope, circular economy, permaculture, journalism, Fons Burger, The Only Possible Solution, Matters of Consequence podcast.
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