In this conversation, the executive editor of Global Government Forum Richard Johnstone chats to Joe Hill, the policy director of the think-tank Re:state about his recent essay, Everythingism.

There’s a link to Joe’s essay at the bottom of these notes, but Everythingism is what Joe Hill describes as the belief in government that “every proposal, project or policy is a means for promoting every national objective, all at the same time”.

In this episode, Richard and Joe dig into exactly what Everythingism means, how it manifests in policymaking, and the impact that it can have in government.  

According to Hill, Everythingism emerges from the denial or avoidance of trade-offs in government – and argues this denial is one of the contributors to the widely-felt frustration with the pace of change in government.

Also worth noting for listeners is that Richard spoke to Joe before the think-tank announced its name change to Re:state from Reform.

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Read Joe’s essay here: Everythingism: an essay