Page 48 - Cormorant Issue 20 2017

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King’s College London Policy Idol 2017
Lt Col Martin Leach REME
LIKE ALL GOOD IDEAS, this one began late on a Winter’s evening, two bottles deep in red wine in the basement of a darkened bar in Berlin.
Deployed on RSE1 and inspired by a visit to the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, including sel es next to a statue of the iconic Willy
Brandt, it had led to the inevitable conclusion that the world was indeed in a very dark place. Clearly, what was needed was a pair of Army of cers to step in and provide the depth of analysis exempli ed in Exercise Swift Response to solve all the ills of a fated civilisation. The answer was clear from the scrawling on the beer mat: enter KCL Policy Idol and save the future of civilised society. Sadly, as the crisp Berlin morning arrived it was painfully clear that our best ideas were not quite hitting the mark: but alas, now with a commitment to enter Policy Idol there was no turning back.
So with the headlines full of ‘Fake News’,
Brexit confusion and Donald Trump’s populist electioneering; a more long-sighted solution was needed to counter the wave of media sensationalism that seemed to be undermining Western democracy. For us the answer began with discussing our own children, and thinking of how we had sought to inculcate the skills to think critically and evaluate
the information they are bombarded with in an increasingly connected world. We decided that teaching philosophy in schools as part of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 (ages 8-11) could provide a set of skills evidently missing in our
“
own generation, but which nonetheless form the foundations of interpreting knowledge. This became the policy we proposed and in the rst round gained us an audience at the Policy Unit in London including former Home Secretary Charles Clarke.
To our surprise, and perhaps a little to do with the political biases of the panel, we were asked back for some bespoke training to nesse the policy and then to enter the nals the following month. These were held at KCL on The Strand, at an evening dinner and a second panel of equally intimidating luminaries, including Dr Dan Poulter MP and The Guardian’s Polly Toynbee.
Sat on the train an hour before being due on stage, we were gripped by the realisation that the intellectual distractions of the Ways Core Module had meant
that we had perhaps neglected to learn our lines
as pro ciently as our ambition to speak unscripted might have demanded. With some inevitability, and as Matt nervously navigated through our presentation at a rate that left the room feeling ill, I seemed to entirely forget what the policy was all about: having been rst on stage with the objective of setting the benchmark, we had instead presented ourselves as strawmen. However, the crowd seemed to enjoy the pantomime and egged on by the enthusiastic roars
of our Divisional Directors from the cheap seats, we managed to salvage our dignity in the Q&A before making a chastened exit to enjoy the other pitches.
Some of the other entrants were still undergraduates, not yet fettered by expectations and their passion and self-belief was truly exceptional. It was great to see such talent and as we meandered back across London enjoying one for the road it was a satisfying
...I seemed to
entirely forget what the policy was
all about...
◆◆◆
The cartoon re ecting the idea
conclusion; soundly beaten by the next generation we set out to save!
The Imperative for Philosophy at Key Stage 2
‘Fake news’, ‘alternative facts’ and ‘post-truths’
- not in living memory has the veracity of public information been so contested. For 30 years we have complacently believed in the irreversible progress of liberal democracy. Francis Fukuyama had con dently foretold of the ‘End of History’, of social reform fuelled by pervasive information and the power of the