How will we govern super-powerful AI?
The AI constitution can mean the difference between war and peace—or total extinction.
08 January, 2021
- The question of conscious artificial intelligence dominating future humanity is not the most pressing issue we face today, says Allan Dafoe of the Center for the Governance of AI at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute. Dafoe argues that AI's power to generate wealth should make good governance our primary concern.
- With thoughtful systems and policies in place, humanity can unlock the full potential of AI with minimal negative consequences. Drafting an AI constitution will also provide the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of past structures to avoid future conflicts.
- Building a framework for governance will require us to get past sectarian differences and interests so that society as a whole can benefit from AI in ways that do the most good and the least harm.
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A brief history of human dignity
What is human dignity? Here's a primer, told through 200 years of great essays, lectures, and novels.
30 November, 2020
Credit: Benjavisa Ruangvaree / AdobeStock
- Human dignity means that each of our lives have an unimpeachable value simply because we are human, and therefore we are deserving of a baseline level of respect.
- That baseline requires more than the absence of violence, discrimination, and authoritarianism. It means giving individuals the freedom to pursue their own happiness and purpose.
- We look at incredible writings from the last 200 years that illustrate the push for human dignity in regards to slavery, equality, communism, free speech and education.
<p>In a <em>New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html" target="_blank">essay</a> published the day of his funeral on July 30, 2020, Congressman John Lewis wrote that his "last days and hours"—in which he watched widespread protests over George Floyd's murder and saw a square in downtown D.C. christened Black Lives Matter Plaza—filled him with hope. "Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity."</p>
<p>Human dignity is a powerful phrase invoked to peacefully protest against violence, discrimination, and authoritarianism. But when we talk about human dignity, what do we mean?</p>
The inherent worth of all human beings
<p>Human dignity is the inherent worth of each individual human being. Recognizing human dignity means respecting human beings' special value—value that sets us apart from other animals; value that is intrinsic and cannot be lost.</p> <p>Liberalism—the broad political philosophy that organizes society around liberty, justice, and equality—is rooted in the idea of human dignity. Liberalism assumes each of our lives, plans, and preferences have some unimpeachable value, not because of any objective evaluation or contribution to a greater good, but simply because they belong to a human being. We are human, and therefore deserving of a baseline level of respect. </p> <p>Because so many of us take human dignity for granted—just a fact of our humanness—it's usually only when someone's dignity is ignored or violated that we feel compelled to talk about it. </p> <p>But human dignity means more than the absence of violence, discrimination, and authoritarianism. It means giving individuals the freedom to pursue their own happiness and purpose—a freedom that can be hampered by restrictive social institutions or the tyranny of the majority. The liberal ideal of the good society is not just peaceful but also pluralistic: It is a society in which we respect others' right to think and live differently than we do.</p>From the 19th century to today
<p>With <a href="https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?year_start=1800&year_end=2019&content=human+dignity&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Chuman%20dignity%3B%2Cc0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Books Ngram Viewer</a>, we can chart mentions of human dignity from 1800-2019.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg0ODU0My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTUwMzE4MX0.bu0D_0uQuyNLyJjfRESNhu7twkJ5nxu8pQtfa1w3hZs/img.png?width=980" id="7ef38" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9974c7bef3812fcb36858f325889e3c6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1225" data-height="451" /><p>We can also map human dignity against mentions of liberalism to see that discussion of human dignity increased with discussion of liberalism. </p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg0ODU0NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjM0ODMzM30.BzxT9Y1Zg5nE-PuQ2enrBn8FXs3HauET23enIw9rH34/img.png?width=980" id="9a5d2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0f2270501d92035c19cad5fc758b55e1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1228" data-height="443" />
<p>Then we can search through individual mentions to find how human dignity was discussed and understood over the last 200 years.</p>
<p>For example, German rabbi Dr. Samuel Hirsch gave a lecture in 1853 on "<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Advocate/s1ccAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22human+dignity%22&pg=PA421&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Religion of Humanity</a>" in which he condemned slavery. "That which we love in ourselves, our true human dignity, compels us to recognize and love the same human dignity in all others," Hirsh said. He wrote:</p>
<p style="margin-left: 20px;">If I can look upon my brother-man as a creature, as a thing void of any will of his own, instead of as a free personality, that furnishes ample proof that I have not yet recognized the true human dignity in myself. To own slaves is spiritual suicide and homicide. This sin is in no way excusable on account of the kind treatment accorded to the slaves by their owner, as he never can treat them humanely. When man becomes a piece of property he is robbed of his human dignity. </p>
<p>In 1917, Kansas State Normal School <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Teaching/JMTSWAhrxSMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22human+dignity%22&pg=RA20-PA16&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published</a> a journal on teaching that called for instructors to help each pupil "make completer use of his one lifetime" because "an abundant life, a life of awareness, a life of dignity is an undertaking worthy of gods." </p>
<p>Thomas Bell's 1941 novel <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Out_Of_This_Furnace/TWLtI_V5YB4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22human+dignity%22&pg=PA411&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Out of the Furnace</em></a> centered on an immigrant Slovak family in Pennsylvania. A character muses that it wasn't "where you were born or how you spelled your name or where your father had come from" that mattered; instead,</p>
<p style="margin-left: 20px;">It was the way you thought and felt about certain things. About freedom of speech and the equality of men and the importance of having one law—the same law—for rich and poor, for the people you liked and the people you didn't like. About the right of every man to live his life as he thought best, his right to defend it if anyone tried to change it and his right to change it himself if he decided he liked some other way of living better…. About human dignity, which helped a man live proudly and distinguished his death from animals; and finally, about the value to be put on a human life, one's enemy's no less than one's own. </p>
<p>In a 1953 <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Progress_and_Human_Dignity/i4BMAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22human+dignity%22&pg=PP8&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">speech</a>, then Secretary of State John Foster Dulles argued that communist countries might be able to achieve short-term material gain, but "results so produced are not a glory but a shame. They are achieved by desecrating the dignity of the human individual." Dulles believed human dignity meant being entitled to a life that included physical well-being and "freedom to think, to believe, and to communicate with one's fellows," "opportunities which permit some exercise of individual choices," and "the contemplation and enjoyment of what is beautiful." </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg0ODU4OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTkzNDQwMX0.oF6SRe8h4isr9BMUowNloz-wDivX95L8Gr739uCooIo/img.jpg?width=980" id="363c2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f90e6b1f91456d023b5cf3f376463ede" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="2000" data-height="1125" />
American novelist, writer, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist James Baldwin at his home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southern France, on November 6, 1979.
Credit: Ralph Gatti/AFP via Getty Images
<p>One hundred years after U.S. law stopped allowing Black Americans to be treated as property, Black writer James Baldwin was still <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilychamleewright/2020/06/30/living-up-to-the-liberal-promise/#784c5cc65139" target="_blank">calling</a> for Black Americans' dignity to be equally recognized. It was not enough, not nearly enough, that the 14th Amendment ensured equal protection of the laws; what mattered was how Black Americans were treated by their fellow human beings. In a 1960 Canadian television <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPaBXcEVpOE" target="_blank">interview</a>, Baldwin said, "I don't know what white people see, you know, when they look at a Negro anymore. But I do know very well—I realized when I was very young—that whatever he was looking at, it wasn't me… I was not a <em>man</em>."</p><p>In his seminal 1963 book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Next-Time-James-Baldwin/dp/067974472X" target="_blank"><em>The Fire Next Time</em></a>, Baldwin seemed to echo Dr. Hirsh's argument from a century earlier:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">I am very much concerned that American Negroes achieve their freedom here in the United States. But I am also concerned for their dignity, for the health of their souls, and must oppose any attempt that Negroes may make to do to others what has been done to them. I think I know—we see it around us every day—the spiritual wasteland to which that road leads. It is so simple a fact and one that is so hard, apparently, to grasp: <em>Whoever debases others debases himself.</em></p><p>This, then, is a common thread in our historic understanding of human dignity: Anyone who treats another human being as less than human undermines <em>their own</em> human dignity in addition to undermining the dignity of their victim.</p>A 1964 <em>New York University Law Review</em> <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Philosophical_Dimensions_of_Privacy/q_FrmXyl3hUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22human+dignity%22&pg=PA156&printsec=frontcover" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">article</a> argued that privacy was a key aspect of human dignity. "A man whose home may be entered at the will of another, whose conversation may be overheard at the will of another, whose marital and familial intimacies may be overseen at the will of another, is less of a man, has less human dignity, on that account," wrote author Edward J. Bloustein, who later became president of Rutgers University.
The future of dignity
<p>Around the world, people are still working toward the full and equal recognition of human dignity. Every year, new speeches and writings help us understand what dignity is—not only what it looks like when dignity is violated but also what it looks like when dignity is honored. In his posthumous essay, Congressman Lewis wrote, "When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war."</p> <p>The more we talk about human dignity, the better we understand it. And the sooner we can make progress toward a shared vision of peace, freedom, and mutual respect for all. </p>
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Are humans cruel by nature?
Historian Rutger Bregman argues that the persistent theory that most people are monsters is just wrong.
20 November, 2020
- How have humans managed to accomplish significantly more than any other species on the planet? Historian Rutger Bregman believes the quality that makes us special is that we "evolved to work together and to cooperate on a scale that no other species in the whole animal kingdom has been able to do."
- Pushing back against the millennia-old idea that humans are inherently evil beneath their civilized surface, which is known as 'veneer theory', Bregman says that it's humanity's cooperative spirit and sense of brotherhood that leads us to do cruel deeds. "Most atrocities are committed in the name of loyalty, and in the name of friendship, and in the name of helping your people," he tells Big Think. "That is what's so disturbing."
- The false assumption that people are evil or inherently selfish has an effect on the way we design various elements of our societies and structures. If we designed on the assumption that we are collaborative instead, we could avoid the "self-fulfilling prophecy" of selfishness.
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When Christmas was cancelled: a lesson from history
Christmas was banned in 1647 and rebellions broke out across the country.
14 November, 2020
William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The prospect of a Christmas without large-scale celebrations is preying on minds.
<p> After the <a href="https://britishtheatre.com/panto-cancellations-and-theatre-redundancies-a-running-tally/">widespread cancellation of pantomimes</a>, festive light “switch-ons" and <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/central/2020-09-29/christmas-events-are-cancelled-across-the-midlands">other community activities</a>, it seems likely that 2020's festivities will be much more intimate affairs, potentially with <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/analysis/christmas-2020-uk-new-covid-lockdown-restrictions-tiers-735452">households banned from mixing indoors</a>. </p><p>But what if families ignore distancing rules, should they remain in place, and celebrate together rather than on Zoom? Politicians seeking to come down hard on rule-breakers might wish to recall a previously restricted yuletide. </p><p>Back in 1647, Christmas was banned in the kingdoms of England (which at the time included Wales), Scotland and Ireland and it didn't work out very well. Following a total ban on everything festive, from decorations to gatherings, rebellions broke out across the country. While some activity took the form of hanging holly in defiance, other action was far more radical and went on to have historical consequences. </p><h2>Christmas is cancelled</h2><p>In 1647, parliament had won <a href="https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-civil-wars">the civil war</a> in England, Scotland and Ireland and King Charles was <a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/#gs.kdw7y5">held in captivity at Hampton Court</a>. The Church of England had been abolished and replaced by a Presbyterian system. </p><p> <img alt="Painting of Oliver Cromwell in armour." sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367199/original/file-20201103-15-jfb8ji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w"></p><p> Oliver Cromwell, the original Grinch who stole Christmas.</p><p> <a class="source" href="https://www.artuk.org/discover/artworks/oliver-cromwell-15991658-48846">Cromwell Museum</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></p>
<p>The protestant reformation had restructured churches across the British Isles, and holy days, Christmas included, were abolished.</p><p>The usual festivities during the 12 days of Christmas (December 25 to January 5) were deemed unacceptable. Shops had to stay open throughout Christmastide, including Christmas Day. Displays of Christmas decorations – holly, ivy and other evergreens – were banned. Other traditions, such as feasting and the celebratory consumption of alcohol, consumed in large quantities then as now, were likewise restricted.</p><p>Christmas Day, however, didn't pass quietly. People across England, Scotland and Ireland flouted the rules. In Norwich, the mayor had already been presented with a petition calling for a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/albion/article/martyn-bennett-the-civil-wars-in-britain-and-ireland-16381651-cambridge-mass-blackwell-publishers-1997-pp-xx-2695-paper-isbn-0631191550-david-stevenson-king-or-covenant-voices-from-civil-war-east-linton-uk-tuckwell-press-1996-pp-xvi-212-1499-paper-isbn-189841081x/D7AD03E939A2F2424E6E83A3161D8CB2" target="_blank">celebration of a traditional Christmas</a>. He could not allow this publicly, but ignored illegal celebrations across the city.</p>
<p>In Canterbury, the usual Christmas football game was played and festive holly bushes were stood outside house doors. Over the 12 days of Christmas, the partying spread across all of Kent and armed force had to be used to break up the fun.</p><p>Christmas Day was celebrated in the very heart of Westminster and the churchwardens of St Margaret's church (which is part of Westminster Abbey) were arrested for failing to stop the party. The London streets were decked with holly and ivy and the shops were closed. The mayor of London was verbally assaulted as he tried to rip down the Christmas decorations with the help of the city's own battle-hardened veteran regiments.</p><p>Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk also celebrated Christmas rowdily. Young men armed with spiked clubs patrolled the streets persuading the shopkeepers to stay shut.</p><p>Taking up arms and breaking the rules weren't just about experiencing the fun of the season. Fighting against the prohibition of Christmas was a political act. Things had changed and the Christmas rebellion was as much a protest against the "new normal" as it was against the banning of fun. People were fed up with a range of restrictions and financial difficulties that came with the Presbyterian system and the fallout of the civil war.</p>
<h2>The worst Christmas hangover</h2><p>The aftermath of the Norwich Christmas riots was the most dramatic. The mayor was summoned to London in April 1648 to explain his failure to prohibit the Christmas parties, but a crowd closed the city gates to prevent him from being taken away. Armed forces were again deployed, and in the ensuing riots, the city ammunition magazine exploded, killing at least 40 people.</p><p>Norwich was not alone. In Kent, the grand jury decided that the Christmas party-going rioters had no choice but to answer to the law and the county went into exuberant rebellion against parliament. Royalists capitalised on the popular discontent and began organising the rioters.</p><p>Successively in 1647 and 1648, parties led to riots, these riots led to rebellions, which, in turn, caused the Second Civil War that summer. King Charles was put on trial after his defeat in the war and was executed. This resulted in a revolution and Britain and Ireland became a republic – all because of Christmas.</p><p>This Christmas, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/28/family-christmas-gatherings-which-flout-rules-will-be-broken-up-by-police-13492048/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">police</a> across the country are ready to enforce COVID regulations and break up gatherings. While the pandemic does make things different, with rule breaking a matter of safety as much as anything else, politicians could learn from the fallout of the last time Christmas was cancelled.</p><p>Like in 1647, many people today are fed up with the government's restrictions. Many have also suffered financial difficulties as a result of the COVID regulations. Some may rail against the idea of ending a miserable year under what they may regard as contradictory restrictions on family fun.</p><p>Such a situation will have to be handled gingerly. There has already been civil disorder over <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-54827535" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lockdowns</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/pfizer-covid-vaccine-promising-results-heres-what-needs-to-happen-next-149809" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vaccines are apparently coming in the new year</a> but the last thing the country needs is further unrest. Once again, government will need to balance the health risk against other societal challenges this pandemic has presented.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149310/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation"></p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/martyn-bennett-383481" target="_blank">Martyn Bennett</a>, Professor of Early Modern History, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/nottingham-trent-university-1338" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nottingham Trent University</a></em></p><p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-christmas-was-cancelled-a-lesson-from-history-149310" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
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A normal tourist map, "but everything is negative"
'Critical Tourist Map of Oslo' offers uniquely dark perspective on Norway's capital.
09 November, 2020
Credit: Markus Moestue
- Your standard tourist map is irrepressibly positive about its location—but not this one.
- Norwegian activist/artist Markus Moestue reveals the dark and shameful sides of Oslo.
- He hopes his 'Critical Tourist Map' will inspire others to reveal the dark side of their cities.
"Only negative stuff about Oslo"
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="afa824839d1b396332eec13dde629cf1"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HI1paJLc9Bo?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Tourism is a conspiracy of euphemisms. Visitors only want to see the best parts of the places they visit. And the places they visit only want to show them their nicest bits. But now, Norwegian activist/artist Markus Moestue is completely reversing that premise. His 'Critical Tourist Map' of Oslo shows the worst, most shameful parts of the Norwegian capital. "It's just like a normal tourist map," he says, "but everything is negative."</p><p><span></span>In a clip on his website, he's seen wheeling a self-made kiosk across Oslo to distribute his work to passersby: "You guys want a free tourist map? It's a critical one: only negative things. So, nothing about sweaters or lasagna, only negative stuff about Oslo and Norway." Some hesitantly accept the map. Most walk by, nonplussed.</p><p><span></span>In the same clip, Moestue muses: "If you feel like you live in the best country in the world, take a moment to consider: Is that really a fact? Or is that just the result of a very successful national propaganda?"</p><p><span></span>One thing is for sure: Norway does have a very positive opinion of itself, and successfully projects that image to the rest of the world. Like its neighboring countries in Scandinavia, it regularly tops global rankings of happiness, equality, eco-awareness and other positive social indicators. </p><p><span></span>But Moestue argues that there <em>is</em> something rotten in the state of Norway, and he uses the otherwise irrepressibly positive medium of the tourist map to make his point. </p><p><span></span>"The Critical Tourist Map of Oslo might help you shatter a few myths about the greatness of Norway. Among the topics you'll learn about is Norway's aggressive foreign policy, our involvement in colonial slavery, the unfair asylum system and why Amnesty International has their eyes on our prisons."</p><p>A short overview of the places and issues he singles out (see map for full text) follows.<br></p>"Cleverly constructed doublethink"
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2NDA0MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzE2Njg2OH0.f-P7CZ6HWXngFmGcYH9GCgTkD9zSIk8XdG3u6wUu8W4/img.jpg?width=980" id="a836f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d0fb7e033d4121b4400670417eefcf61" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="The Royal Palace in Oslo was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of Norwegian and Swedish king Charles III (Carl Johan, Charles XIV of Sweden) and is used as the official residence of the present Norwegian Monarch. The crown-prince couple resides at Skaugum in Asker Municipality outside Oslo." data-width="3706" data-height="2720" />The Royal Palace in Oslo. "The Royal Myth was created by King Olav in 1973, when he arranged a photo of himself pretending to pay for a tram ticket," says Moestue.
Credit: Palickap, CC BY-SA 4.0
<p><strong></strong><strong>1. Monarchy</strong></p><p><em>Det Kongelige Slott (the Royal Palace) – Slottsplassen 1</em></p><p>"The Royal Myth was created by King Olav in 1973, when he arranged a photo of himself pretending to pay for a tram ticket. That iconic image showed the king being just like us. But of course, it was such a big deal because he's not one of us. This is very cleverly constructed doublethink."<br></p><p><strong>2. Parliament</strong></p><p><em>Stortinget (Parliament) – Karl Johanns gate 22</em></p><p><em></em>"In 2011, these people voted to bomb Libya. 588 Norwegian bombs helped reduce that country from one of the most stable states in Africa into one of civil war with extreme suffering for its people." </p><p><strong>3. Slavery</strong></p><p><em>Tordenskioldstatuen (statue of Tordenskiold) – Rådhusplassen (east side)</em></p><p>"Our national hero Tordenskiold operated as a slave-trader during the colonial era. Norway actively downplays this part of our history and has not provided any apologies or paid any reparations."</p><p><strong>4. Oslo Prison</strong></p><p><em>Oslo fengsel (Oslo Prison) - Åkebergveien 11</em></p><p><em></em>"Amnesty International has complained that this prison in Oslo keeps prisoners in isolation for up to 23 hours a day. This equals torture and may have long-term implications for the prisoners' mental health." </p><p><strong>5. Lesbian bench</strong></p><p><em>Karl Johanns gate (?)</em></p><p><em></em>"This bench is a memorial for all in Norway who have been discriminated against—and still are—because of their sexual orientation. Still today you can find discrimination, and some religious sects are still trying to 'heal' young people from homosexuality." </p><p><strong>6. Indigenous peoples</strong></p><p><em>Samisk Hus (Sami House) - Dronningens gate 8B</em></p><p><em></em>"Many efforts have been made to assimilate the indigenous people of Norway. Sami and Kven have had their cultures diminished. Use of their languages and symbols was discouraged, sometimes outlawed. Today, these languages are under threat of extinction."<br></p>The gap between history and reality
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2NDA1Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTg5NTQ1NH0.BINAtAOzGyUMfBdjCUuBI4jcE-JGF5NJMM4cL4SeMe4/img.jpg?width=980" id="0bad8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d468a23fd5d94b61348f94c4779ff48f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="\u200b"In most countries, what we are taught about our own nation in school does not correspond much to reality," says Mr Moestue. This map sets about correcting that shortcoming, at least for his own country: "Is Norway the most happy place, the most environmentally conscious, the most peace-loving or the most ethical (country on earth)? Hardly!"" data-width="3508" data-height="4961" />"In most countries, what we are taught about our own nation in school does not correspond much to reality," says Moestue. This map sets about correcting that shortcoming, at least for Oslo and Norway.
Credit: Markus Moestue. Click here to zoom.
<p><strong>7. Oslo Courthouse</strong></p><p><em>Oslo Tingrett (Oslo District Court) - C. J. Hambros plass 4</em></p><p>"Norway often claims to defend freedom of speech. But unfortunately, we are one of many countries that has not wanted to protect Julian Assange. When the Dalai Lama visited Norway, our prime minister refused to meet with him." </p><p><strong>8. Government building</strong></p><p><em>Regjeringsbygget (the Cabinet Building) – Akersgata 42</em></p><p>"In 2011, a Norwegian right-wing terrorist bombed this building, and killed 69 people in another location that same day. Altogether, 77 people lost their lives. He was a former member of the political party FrP. In 2018, the justice minister from FrP was forced to resign after spreading the same conspiracy theories as the terrorist had—mainly hate speech towards Muslims and the Labor Party."</p><p><strong>9. Asylum</strong></p><p><em>Utlendingsinternat (National Police Immigration Detention Centre) - Trandumveien 80, Mogreina</em></p><p>"Asylum seekers in Trandum camp, north of Oslo, are held in conditions worse than in prison, including days of complete isolation, no chairs and minimal medical assistance. They have not had any trial and have not committed any crimes." </p><p><strong>10. Oil</strong></p><p><em>Equinor Oslo – Martin Linges vei 33, Fornebu (farther location than shown on this map)</em></p><p>"State-owned energy company Equinor spends millions on advertising aimed directly at the Norwegians. Their non-stop campaigning has made the Norwegian population one of the most climate-illiterate in the world."</p><p><strong>11. Nobel Peace Center</strong></p><p><em>Nobel Fredssenter (Nobel Peace Center) – Brynjulf Bulls plass 1</em></p><p><em></em>"The myth of Norway as a peace-loving nation has been widely promoted. However, since Norway's contribution to the bombing of Serbia, the attack on Afghanistan and the U.S. war against Iraq, this image should be adjusted." </p><p><strong>12. Drugs</strong></p><p><em>East Side Oslo – Nylandsveien area</em></p><p><em></em>"Even though most drug use takes place on Oslo's West Side, the poorer East Side suffers more arrests and fines. Lots of resources are spent on the war on drugs, but the policy is lacking a holistic approach." </p><p><strong>13. Jewish deportations</strong></p><p><em>Akershuskai</em></p><p>"During WWII, more than 600 Jews were deported from Norway to the Nazi death camps. The Norwegian police arrested the Jews and put them onto ships. After the war, the police chief in charge was pardoned. His next job was to hunt communists." <br></p><p>"In most countries, what we are taught about our own nation in school does not correspond much to reality," says Moestue. This map sets about correcting that shortcoming, at least for his own country. "Is Norway the most happy place, the most environmentally conscious, the most peace-loving or the most ethical [country on Earth]? Hardly!" </p>17th-century sugar
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc2NDA2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTAxMjkxMX0.gznqzdg6ts4Ao3tZnJSpg93nCj0YUBi8ycrYKcBg1bU/img.jpg?width=980" id="a18ce" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="51d624d1e603cdae225ef8fca66a9764" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Seagull resting in Tordenskiold's hat. "We had fortresses in Africa and colonies in the Caribbean. Norway actively downplays this part of our history and has not provided any apologies or paid any reparations," says Mr Moestue. "It sometimes feels like Norway has no colonial history and nobody ate any sugar in the 17th century."" data-width="2486" data-height="2109" />Seagull resting in Tordenskiold's hat. "It sometimes feels like Norway has no colonial history and nobody ate any sugar in the 17th century."
Credit: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 3.0
<p>Perhaps somewhat too convinced of the malleability of public opinion, Mr Moestue muses: "People don't want to just come to Oslo, look around, go back home and say: <em>Hey, I've been to Oslo, to have the best kebab or to have some mediocre Chinese food there</em>. No. People want to go to Oslo and then they want to go back home, and they want to say: <em>I've been to Oslo. I've seen Oslo. And it's really, really bad</em>."</p><p>Most foreigners - and a good deal of Norwegians - will probably not know that the country has a colonial past, for example. "We had fortresses in Africa and colonies in the Caribbean. Norway actively downplays this part of our history and has not provided any apologies or paid any reparations," says Moestue. But "it sometimes feels like Norway has no colonial history and nobody ate any sugar in the 17th century."</p><p><span></span>However, don't mistake Mr Moestue's negativism for nihilism. Ultimately, his map has a positive point to make: "I feel that Norway is using too much resources <em>appearing</em> to be good, and too little effort actually <em>doing</em> good!"</p><p>And there's another thing the artist hopes is map will achieve: "I'm hoping others will make their own tourist maps about their own cities. If they look hard enough I'm sure it's also pretty bad!" </p><p><br><br><em>Learn more about Mr Moestue's map on his <a href="https://markusmoestue.no/" target="_blank">website</a>.</em></p><p><em></em><strong>Strange Maps #1056</strong></p><p><strong></strong><em>Got a strange map? Let me know via </em><a href="mailto:strangemaps@gmail.com">strangemaps@gmail.com</a><em>.</em><br></p>
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