UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State associate professor’s TED talk on the benefits of conflict between government agencies and corporations has been featured on TED.com.
Jonathan Marks, an associate professor of bioethics, humanities and law in the College of the Liberal Arts, delivered his TED talk during February’s TEDxPSU event. In the talk, Marks challenged the conventional wisdom that compromise, consensus and collaboration are inherently good, and showed how governments can jeopardize public health and the environment when they partner with industry.
Visit the TED.com website to view the talk.
“Governments are increasingly partnering with industry to solve public health and environmental problems, including collaborating with corporations that are contributing to the very problems that governments are trying to solve. To avoid engaging in conflict with companies, governments create conflicts of interest for themselves,” Marks said. “In doing so, governments not only imperil their integrity. They can jeopardize public health and the environment, essential parts of our common good.”
Marks, who also serves as Penn State’s bioethics program director and as an affiliate faculty member at the Rock Ethics Institute, Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs, was among 11 speakers at the seventh annual TEDxPSU event, “Breach,” held at Schwab Auditorium on Feb. 12.
TEDxPSU is Penn State’s locally organized, student-run TEDx conference. The organization showcases the best research, ideas and values from Penn State students, faculty and alumni, and from speakers outside the Penn State community who provide new perspectives on the world at large.
“I’m excited about TED featuring my talk because my work has real implications for policy and practice,” Marks said. “While I enjoy sharing my ideas with students and academic colleagues, they are always developed with a larger audience, especially policymakers and the general public, in mind.”