The Archive

The questions. The debates. The verdicts.

Explore every session of The Long Council.

24 of 134 sessions
  1. 13 June 2026

    Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?

    Verdict

    China wins from European degrowth while the planet loses.

    GeopoliticsEconomyEuropeChinaClimate
  2. 13 June 2026

    How can the Dutch bureaucracy better respond to the social problems it currently ignores?

    Verdict

    Create citizen oversight boards with power to stop cases and fire officials.

    DemocracyGovernanceNetherlands
  3. 9 June 2026

    Is entrepreneurship a better engine for African prosperity than state intervention?

    Verdict

    Neither alone succeeds; state capacity enables market success, as Kenya's M-Pesa and Rwanda's growth show.

    Economy
  4. 4 June 2026

    What political system best serves its people and the planet, and how should it account for externalities?

    Verdict

    Environmental protection requires both state capacity and democratic accountability. No system delivers both perfectly.

    Democracy
  5. 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
  6. 1 June 2026

    Should the US government's fast-track loan to Vulcan Elements, a firm with ties to a ruling official's family, be considered corruption or legitimate governance?

    Verdict

    This is corruption disguised as strategic policy.

    ClimateGovernance
  7. 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.

  8. 28 May 2026

    Should governments ban PFAS to protect the environment and health?

    Verdict

    Yes, governments should ban PFAS, but with transition timelines that fund alternatives development.

    Economy
  9. 27 May 2026

    What actions must be taken today to ensure the future of next generations?

    Verdict

    Build institutions that survive electoral cycles and restore the environmental commons that sustain democracy itself.

    DemocracyGeopoliticsClimateGovernance
  10. 23 May 2026

    Is it wise to aspire to start human civilization on Mars?

    Verdict

    Mars settlement divides on whether civilizational insurance justifies abandoning Earth's urgent needs.

  11. 17 May 2026

    Should Curaçao build wealth for the poor, and what benefits would that bring to society?

    Verdict

    Yes — wealth-building creates stakeholder citizens and social stability that welfare transfers cannot match.

    DemocracyEconomyNetherlands
  12. 14 May 2026

    Should Groningen's gas fields remain open for emergency situations?

    Verdict

    Emergency capacity requires local control over when emergencies justify production.

    ClimateNetherlands
  13. 8 May 2026

    How do we strengthen democracy?

    Verdict

    Democracy grows strong when people can act together to control what affects their lives.

    DemocracyGovernance
  14. 8 May 2026

    How can we adapt our democracy so that the interests of future generations are taken into account?

    Verdict

    Democracy must represent future generations through constitutional limits on irreversible decisions and institutions with long-term mandates.

    DemocracyGovernance
  15. 7 May 2026

    Why do technological developments reinforce inequality and how can we prevent that?

    Verdict

    Technology serves those who own it, but communities can govern it democratically if institutions give them real control over development and benefits.

    DemocracyEconomyTechnologyGovernance
  16. 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.

    DemocracyClimate
  17. 6 May 2026

    The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters of our planet for many years. The supply driven system and customer behaviour make it difficult to change this. Should governments interfere with stricter rules and regulations?

    Verdict

    Fashion's environmental damage requires coordinated action, but the council divides on whether markets, experiments, or binding rules deliver results fastest.

    EconomyGovernance
  18. 6 May 2026

    Should we have a flying miles system where every citizen of the EU gets a free amount of miles they can travel by plane each year. If they are out of miles they can buy from other eu members that are not using them in an open marketplace. This will ensure there is a redistribution of wealth. People with less money can sell their miles for a fun holiday by car while the rich can fly far away.

    Verdict

    The system could work but requires choosing between market efficiency and climate justice.

    DemocracyEconomyEuropeClimate
  19. 5 May 2026

    How can Europe develop a long-term strategy for climate and conflict migration that combines humane reception with social stability?

    Verdict

    Europe must prepare institutions for predictable climate migration rather than manage it as permanent crisis.

    EuropeWarClimateGovernance
  20. 5 May 2026

    How do we balance the acute need for economic growth and housing construction with legal obligations and the urgent need to reduce nitrogen emissions and protect biodiversity?

    Verdict

    Build housing and cut nitrogen in the same places through local control, subsidized energy, and redistribution from wealthy regions to constrained ones.

    GeopoliticsEconomyClimate
  21. 3 May 2026

    Should the EU impose sanctions on Israel for its attacks on Lebanon?

    Verdict

    EU sanctions would isolate Europe without changing Israeli behavior or protecting Lebanese civilians.

    GeopoliticsEconomyEuropeWar
  22. 27 April 2026

    Does Europe really have an immigration crisis and if so how can it be solved?

    Verdict

    Europe faces institutional breakdown between migration volumes and integration capacity, but the council maps fundamentally different paths forward rather than reaching consensus on solutions.

    EuropeGovernance
  23. 26 April 2026

    Should the EU be further expanded with other nations?

    Verdict

    The EU faces an irreducible trade-off between institutional effectiveness and territorial scope that cannot be resolved through technical fixes or gradual reform.

    EconomyEuropeGovernance
  24. 26 April 2026

    Should countries prioritize economic growth or environmental protection?

    Verdict

    The council establishes that the growth-versus-environment framing is fundamentally flawed because environmental degradation ultimately destroys the resource base that economies depend on, making the two inseparable over any meaningful time…

    EconomyWar