LEGACY. We hear a lot about sustainability and how our economic model falls short in so many areas – rising inequality, failure of a rising tide to lift all boats, the negative impact of economic growth on planetary resources and on and on. So, what to do about it? Sir Dieter Helm who is Professor of Economic Policy at Oxford and chaired the UK Natural Capital Committee has some ideas. He sets them out in his recently published Legacy, How to build the Sustainable Economy. They make for very interesting reading, and you are invited to join us for an exploration of what he suggests.
Economics is about everyday life, and that everyday life seems increasingly dominated by intangible items such as apps, social networks and online services. But these ‘intangible’ items are wholly reliant upon the physical infrastructure that facilitates them and the energy that powers them. That physical infrastructure in turn depends upon such mundane items as sand, salt and iron. We are extracting such material in greater quantities than ever before. This term’s study will explore the nature of our dependence on these basic elements of Mother Earth and the fascinating network which links them altogether.
GLOBAL INFLUENCING
We discuss topics selected on the basis of world events and the group’s particular interests. Examples from the January term included "Grass Roots Initiatives" such as Community Wealth Building and the work of the Centre For Local Economic Strategies, and the housing crises with presentations on the Land Development Agency in Ireland and a paper intended for the Housing Minister in Western Australia. For the May term we will be looking further at the work of author, economist, broadcaster and associate of the School, Fred Harrison, especially his work on the 18-year economic cycle - predicting an economic crash in 2026/7 - supported by a similar body of work by the American Phillip Anderson.
We will continue with our study of the current ideas which underlie economic activity and how these may be modified to reflect Natural Law: How new economic arrangements may reflect Human Nature through Justice. New participants welcome.
KNOWLEDGE AND ACTIVISM, EXPERIENCE AND ACTION
Rather than just learning about how the economy works and how our laws and customs affect prosperity, shouldn’t we be campaigning to fix it? We will consider areas that need to be ‘fixed’ and how change could be brought about. Can what Plato called ‘right opinion’ have an effect on the real world? We will go on to look at the lives of some of the greatest men and women activists and their achievements, asking what influenced them, whether their influence spread and what the long-term effect was. The way we all participate is important, whether in our work, our communities, as members of organisations, or our choices as consumers and considerations when voting. Do join us.