RSA Events

On the 75th anniversary of Beveridge’s transformative ‘five giants’ report, a panel of experts gather to review how far we’ve come, and have still to go. The ‘five giant evils’ of society were identified as Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness, and the modern-day NHS, national pension scheme, compulsory education, social housing and wide-ranging benefits were established in response to its recommendations. Whilst these so-called social securities transformed the lives of millions, public spending cutbacks mean many are still struggling to meet their basic needs. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 9th November 2017. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/11/The-State-of-Welfare

Award-winning author and public intellectual, Elif Shafak discusses populism, liberal values, and the provisional nature of democracy in the West. Drawing on her observations of the rise of populism and duality (a “them” and “us” mentality) in her native Turkey, Elif offers cautionary advice about the provisional nature of democracy in the west and the rise of populism – and how close we are to slipping back at any point – and asks the question; do writers and other cultural commentators have a responsibility to speak up? This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 8th November 2017. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/11/elif-shafak

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 2nd November 2017 For well over a hundred years, social and cultural anthropologists have travelled the world, uncovering patterns and variations in how humans organize their lives and articulate their values. By weaving together theories and fieldwork examples from Beijing to the City of London, anthropologist Matthew Engelke shows why the study of anthropology still matters in today’s globalized world: not only because it allows us to understand other points of view, but also because in the process, it reveals something about ourselves too. Learning to think like an anthropologist opens up fresh insights into current social and political debates, from big tech to Brexit. Anthropology, argues Engelke, should be as central to our understanding of the world as Economics and Psychology have become; we are unable to understand identity, cultural values and power without it. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/11/how-to-think-like-an-anthropologist

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 1st November 2017 As the UK government makes preparations to leave the European Union, this independent Commission, funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, is a unique and important opportunity to engage the voices of citizens, communities, businesses, academics and advocates in shaping the direction of food, farming and countryside policies. Against a backdrop of change and uncertainty, this Commission is intended to help secure the future of safe, sustainable UK food & farming systems and to protect national environmental assets, of vital economic, social and cultural importance, for now and future generations. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/11/food-farming--countryside-launch-event2

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 31st October 2017 It’s now conventional wisdom to focus on the excesses of the ultra-rich top 1% who are hoarding income and wealth while incomes for the rest are stagnant. But the more important, and widening, gap in American society, argues Richard Reeves, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is between the upper middle class and everyone else. Reeves defines the upper middle class as those whose incomes are in the top 20 percent of American society. Income isn’t the only way to measure a society, but in a market economy it is crucial because access to money generally determines who gets the best quality education, housing and health care. As Reeves shows, the growing separation between the upper middle class and everyone else can be seen in family structure, neighbourhoods, attitudes, and lifestyle. Those at the top of the income ladder are becoming more effective at passing on their status to their children, reducing overall social mobility. The result is a fracturing of American society along class lines, not just an economic divide. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/10/whos-destroying-the-american-dream

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 30th October 2017 What fundamental values do human beings hold in common? As globalisation draws us together economically, are our values converging or diverging? Is the principle of human rights becoming a global ethic, or a vanishing preoccupation of the elite? These were some of the questions that led former leader of the Canadian Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, to embark on a three-year, eight-nation journey in search of answers. A renowned academic and public thinker, Ignatieff discovered that while human rights may be the language of states and liberal elites, the moral language that counts with most people are the ordinary virtues: tolerance, forgiveness, trust and resilience. These virtues are the moral operating system of global cities and favelas alike, the glue that makes the multicultural experiment work. When order breaks down and conflicts break out, the ordinary virtues do the work of repair and reconciliation. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/10/moral-order-in-a-divided-world

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 26th October 2017 Rising star and extremism expert Julia Ebner argues that far right and Islamist extremist narratives – ‘The West is at war with Islam’ and ‘Muslims are at war with the West’ - complement each other perfectly, making the two extremes rhetorical allies and building a spiralling torrent of hatred – what she calls ‘The Rage’. By looking at extremist movements both online and offline, Ebner shows how far right and Islamist extremists have succeeded in penetrating each other’s echo chambers as a result of their mutually useful messages. She visits the RSA to introduce us to the world of reciprocal radicalisation and the hotbeds of extremism that have developed – with potentially disastrous consequences - in the UK, Europe and the US. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/10/the-extremism-paradox

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 19th October 2017 Nobel Prize-winning economist Jean Tirole argues that far from being the “dismal science”, economics is a “moral science”, and has the power to be a positive force for good in society. Jean Tirole has been described as one of the most influential economists of our time. On winning the Nobel Prize in 2014 he found himself regularly being called upon to comment on issues of the day, and this transformation from academic economist to public intellectual prompted him to reflect on the role economists and their discipline can and should play in society. At the RSA, Jean Tirole explores this relationship between economics and society, looking at how economic research is actually done, the kinds of institution that shape the modern state, and the need for governments and private firms to recognize their social responsibilities. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/10/economics-for-the-common-good

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Wednesday 18th October 2017 The 2017 Albert Medal is awarded posthumously to Robin Murray for pioneering work in social innovation. Robin Murray was a visionary social and economic thinker, whose life’s work was guided by a profound commitment to mutuality and cooperation. As an industrial and environmental economist, Murray was active and influential across several fields, from cooperatives to energy system innovation. He was deeply committed to a democratic, creative and collaborative response to economic and technological change and developed pioneering economic programmes in local, regional and national governments. In this Albert Medal event, we will hear from close collaborators Geoff Mulgan, Hilary Cottam and Ed Mayo who will offer insights into Murray’s work, and explore how it has inspired and informed a wide range of policy debate and development around the social innovation movement. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/10/making-change-happen

This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 17th October 2017 Within a few short decades, the world has rushed to embrace the products and services of four giant corporations: Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Google. But at what cost? Leading liberal journalist Franklin Foer argues that though these firms sell their efficiency and purport to make the world a better place, what they have done instead is to enable an intoxicating level of daily convenience that has a darker underside. Their corporate ambitions are trampling longstanding liberal values, especially intellectual property and privacy. As these companies have expanded, marketing themselves as champions of individuality and pluralism, their algorithms have pressed us into conformity. They have produced an unstable and narrow culture of misinformation, and put us on a path to a world without private contemplation or autonomous thought – a world without mind. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2017/10/the-existential-threat-of-big-tech