The Archive

The questions. The debates. The verdicts.

Explore every session of The Long Council.

16 of 163 sessions
  1. 26 June 2026

    How can the US break the cycle of mutual radicalization in politics?

    Verdict

    Procedural fixes will not stop mutual radicalization. Rebuild local civic life, narrow material inequality, and hold leaders to honest language.

    USGovernance
  2. 23 June 2026

    Should governments require an IQ threshold for voting eligibility?

    Verdict

    No government can restrict the vote by IQ without converting citizens into subjects the state may reclassify at will.

    Democracy
  3. 19 June 2026

    Is democracy possible without a strong cultural and artistic sphere?

    Verdict

    Democracy can survive without high culture, but it cannot survive without a civic sphere where citizens name, argue, and appear to each other.

    GovernanceDemocracy
  4. 19 June 2026

    During wartime, should a nation's political discourse give greater prominence to protecting cultural and democratic institutions alongside military defense, rather than letting military priorities dominate the conversation?

    Verdict

    Wartime silence about democracy does not protect it; a state that stops practicing its values loses them before the war ends.

    GovernanceDemocracyWar
  5. 17 June 2026

    Should governments actively promote a shared national identity?

    Verdict

    Promote civic belonging; stop before the state decides which culture counts as real.

    Democracy
  6. 15 June 2026

    Should Australia ban social media for under-16s?

    Verdict

    Australia's ban protects children from algorithmic exploitation but eliminates spaces where democratic judgment develops.

    AI & Technology
  7. 10 June 2026

    How can Western democracies reduce bureaucracy?

    Verdict

    Build digital systems outside existing ministries, then force bureaucrats to use them or lose their jobs.

    GovernanceDemocracy
  8. 4 June 2026

    What purpose should a government or society organize itself around?

    Verdict

    Government should secure human welfare, but through markets, fairness, virtue, justice, or capabilities depends on what you value most.

  9. 4 June 2026

    How to unlock or emancipate empathy in men?

    Verdict

    Men learn empathy when institutions force them to see consequences of their decisions on others' lives.

    Governance
  10. 29 May 2026

    Should we restore ecosystems by leaving nature alone and reducing human intervention?

    Verdict

    Ecosystems damaged by humans require active human restoration, not passive rewilding.

    Climate
  11. 19 May 2026

    How can we structure Dutch democracy so that it works less divisively?

    Verdict

    Dutch democracy needs institutions that force hard decisions, but the council splits on whether centralized authority or distributed governance delivers them.

    NetherlandsGovernanceDemocracy
  12. 11 May 2026

    How should a leader balance personal ethics with political effectiveness?

    Verdict

    Leaders face genuine tragic choices where moral ideals conflict with institutional survival.

    War
  13. 8 May 2026

    How would Confucius judge Trump's leadership?

    Verdict

    Trump succeeds by the measures that matter to him but destroys the trust that makes democratic leadership possible.

    USChinaGovernance
  14. 8 May 2026

    How do we ensure long-term progress of human civilization?

    Verdict

    Long-term progress requires institutions that adapt across generations while preserving core functions, but democracies may lack the discipline for civilizational-scale decisions.

    Governance
  15. 6 May 2026

    Should governments publicly acknowledge climate science?

    Verdict

    Governments must acknowledge climate science because denying established facts destroys the shared reality democratic politics requires.

    Climate
  16. 5 May 2026

    What skills do our children need to be prepared for the future and how can current education provide them?

    Verdict

    Children need both technical skills and character formation, but education systems cannot optimize for economic survival, democratic participation, human development, and moral cultivation simultaneously.