In preparation for the free workshops series on safety beliefs to be held in July I thought it might be interesting to map changes in so called ‘beliefs’ of safety and rhetoric of safety over its short history. (The map makes no attempt to maintain chronological order or accuracy but simply to map changes in rhetoric over time).

Some observations:

• Changes in rhetoric over time are driven by academics
• The development of new language in safety creates a new market
• Though changes in rhetoric/slogans, there is no change in methodology/philosophy
• Similarly, no change in methods
• Most changes in rhetoric indicate a perception of failure of previous rhetoric
• The creation of new rhetoric creates a new market for sales
• New market sales become the effective monetisation of safety
• The change in rhetoric creates a new following/cohort
• The creation of new rhetoric in safety creates additional factions
• Old factions don’t disappear, new factions appear and compete
• All factions carry political loyalties
• Most changes in rhetoric are an attempt to humanise safety