The London School of Economics and Political Science public events podcast series is a platform for thought, ideas and lively debate where you can hear from som...
The Open Society as an Enemy: Populism, Popper and pessimism post-1989
Contributor(s): Professor J. McKenzie Alexander, Dr Ilka Gleibs, Professor Alan Manning | Across the world, populist agendas on both the left and right threaten to undermine fundamental principles that underpin liberal democracies, so that what were previously seen as virtues of the ‘Open Society’ are now, by many people, seen as vices, dangers, or threats. As global citizens, we are implicated by a range of contemporary social questions informed by the Open Society; from the free movement of people to the erosion of privacy, no-platforming and the increased political and social polarisation fuelled by social media.
Expanding on Karl Popper’s thinking nearly 80 years since the original publication of his spirited philosophical defence of the Open Society, J. McKenzie Alexander’s new book, The Open Society As An Enemy, argues that a new defence is urgently needed now, in the decades since the end of the Cold War. The Open Society as an Enemy interrogates four interconnected aspects of the Open Society: cosmopolitanism, transparency, the free exchange of ideas, and communitarianism. In re-examining their consequences, Alexander calls for resistance to the forces of reaction, alongside his claim for the concept of the Open Society to be rehabilitated and advanced.
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1:31:11
Is the internet good for children?
Contributor(s): Professor Sonia Livingstone | Public anxiety about children’s digital lives and wellbeing is reaching a fever pitch, marking a notable turnaround from the decades-long efforts to ensure children are fully digitally included, literate and empowered. While arguments rage over what’s wrong with ‘screen time,’ ‘online harms,’ and data-driven forms of exploitation, this lecture will examine how a children’s rights lens can help steer an evidence-based path towards better digital futures for children.
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1:25:16
The rise of Africa's suburban middle classes
Contributor(s): Professor Deborah James, Professor Claire Mercer, Professor Susan Parnell, Professor Ola Uduku | African cities are under construction. Beyond the urban redevelopment schemes and large-scale infrastructure projects reconfiguring central city skylines, urban residents are putting their resources into finding land and building homes on city edges. Claire Mercer’s research shows how the ‘suburban frontier’ has become the place where Africa’s middle classes are shaped.
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1:15:52
New World, New Rules - What Works for Global Governance
Contributor(s): Dr George Papaconstantinou, Professor Jean Pisani-Ferry, Professor Andrés Velasco | This event marks the launch of New World, New Rules by George Papaconstantinou and Jean Pisani-Ferry, in which two of European policymakers and analysts outline a new agenda for global governance.
In the book, they examine governance practices across several key policy areas – climate, health, trade and competition, banking and finance, taxation, migration and the digital economy – and consider what works and what doesn't, and why. The global governance solutions they put forward are ambitious but pragmatic. They require complexity, flexibility and compromise. Attributes that global governments are demonstrably short of, but today's global crises urgently demand.
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1:23:27
Elements of a theory of the responsible firm
Contributor(s): Professor Patrick Bolton | Patrick Bolton will be talking on the topic of Elements of a Theory of the Responsible Firm. The lecture will begin with a short review of economic theories of the firm, pointing out that although all the economic theories see the firm as an institutional response to improve on market and contractual inefficiencies, they ignore the problem of the economic responsibility of firms in a world of market inefficiencies, externalities, and government failures. Professor Bolton will then turn to a discussion of the meaning of economic responsibility, its relevance, and practical implications for firms, by drawing on some key readings from management, law, and philosophy.
The London School of Economics and Political Science public events podcast series is a platform for thought, ideas and lively debate where you can hear from some of the world's leading thinkers. Listen to more than 200 new episodes every year.
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