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# Catastrophe and passivity
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/catastrophe-and-passivity/
- Published: 2009-04-07T08:04:35.000Z
- Updated: 2019-02-14T23:00:53.000Z
- Author: Tony Curzon Price
- Tags: #en, #Migrated, #Import 2026-04-09 19:57

Cannon Dr Alan Billings in[ the homily slot](http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/thought/t20090407.ram?ref=opendemocracy.net) on the BBC's morning news program suggests that crumbling banks and crumbling buildings are a good moment to hand trust over to God. For Voltaire, these were moments to retract that trust. More positively, for Rousseau, they are moments to understand that we are not a passive audience in the face of destruction.

[Listen!](http://www.audioboo.fm/boos/4411-voltaire-rousseau-billings.mp3?ref=opendemocracy.net)