The news from around the world is far from positive: authoritarian regimes are on the rise, the political systems in the EU and US are fractured and ineffective, and millions of people are forced to flee from war, violence and poverty. The state of the world is precarious; yet there are also optimists who believe in the saving power of science, technology or international law and institutions, who argue that the world is really headed in the right direction and that pessimists are misguided or short-sighted.

On Saturday 12 November in Amsterdam, an international cast of activists, scientists, writers and philosophers took the stage to discuss the deeper questions behind the current political, ecological and social crises. What is the defect in our civilization? Is material progress enough, or should progress have a moral or social basis? Is technology a blessing or a curse? And what will save the world – politics, art, science, or faith?

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