What Can Indigenous Peoples Teach Us?
The Monday 4pm Advanced Economics Group will consider what Indigenous Peoples can teach us. Taking examples from around the world and through time, the focus will be on their sense of property in their relationships with nature and each other. It will not be on history or recent injustices, unless to support the main focus. The hope is to retain humility, seek guidance, and avoid sentimentality.
“There is much to be learnt from indigenous peoples as we seek to find solutions to the challenges of combatting climate change and managing resources in a sustainable way” - UN Secretary-General
Money – cash or charge?
Money, something that is never far from the minds of most of us, whether we have too little or too much, but what is it? The generally accepted view is that it makes the world go round. It certainly does, but why? There may be a bit more to this than meets the eye. You are cordially invited to join us for an exploration of money, what it is, where it comes from and why it does what it does.
There is growing discontent with the injustices arising from current economic arrangements in the world and the dangers to democracy. This has prompted economic and political writers such as Martin Wolf of the Financial Times and Bernie Sanders in the US to look critically at how capitalism has developed and to offer suggestions as to how it needs to be urgently re-shaped. We will consider their analysis, the issues raised and the solutions proposed by them.
An international group (already Irish, Australian and British) ; we generally reach a consensus on topics to be considered.
By way of examples, over the last two terms:
- Liz Truss's mini budget and it's likely effect on Economics with Justice, the Irish and The Australian Economies and recent budgets
- Location Law , a detailed ongoing investigation ,with periodic progress checks
- Inflation: What is Inflation, how is it measured, what are the causes, is this a bad thing, if so who suffers and what can be done about it? Also ongoing.
- House prices, the fundamental cause of the recent increases, and what can be done about them?
-We are currently considering "Influence ,Spreading the Word" , Who, Why, How, the Enemies, What Next?
New participants welcome, do join us.
Economics is often studied through the prism of various models. They are by necessity a simplification of the world in which we find ourselves. How about if we explored the subject through the key ideas of philosophy? Do we have a clear picture of where we fit in the economic world? Are we awake to the realities and deceptions that the system presents. How do the ideas we hold shape our view. Are we free? Do we have an open mind to taking on new ideas?
This is an opportunity to explore this fascinating world and hopefully be able respond to it more fully.
PENSIONS - How and why has the need for pension provision arisen? Identifying the underlying injustices, their source and consequences.
What are the governing principles, their perceived need, how they are provided for and the consequences for the World Economy given the current arrangements that are in place to provide for them?
How would be the natural provision for those who are no longer economically able to support themselves work?
Join us to explore these themes.
Circles of Compassion
New members are welcome to this established group which is seeking to enlarge our vision of the economy towards a complete picture of how humans live together in society. This was described by an ancient stoic philosopher as ‘Circles of Compassion’, examples being family, village, nation.
The questions to be addressed next term are: How do centralized societies work in contrast to localized or devolved societies? What is the vital binding force that brings people to work together? What methods are effective in resolving deep conflicts of interest? How has globalisation broken down relationships, and where has it built new structures of distribution whose benefits work for everyone, and not just for the already rich?