This year's BBC Reith Lecturer is Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, Oxford University and the author of "Why Politics Fails." He will deliver four lectures in a series called “Our Democratic Future.” The series asks how we can build a politics that works for all of us with systems which are robust to the challenges of the twenty first century, from climate change to artificial intelligence. In this third lecture, recorded in Sunderland, Professor Ansell explores whether we can develop a shared sense of belonging in today's polarised societies. How can we ensure that we look after the less fortunate in an economy that seems only to reward the 'already haves'? Ansell addresses the challenges posed by technologies that enrich a small elite and privatise solidarity with bespoke healthcare and benefits that might undermine collective solidarity. And he assesses how policy reform - from universal basic income to civic nationalism - might help renew our communities.
The Reith Lectures are chaired by Anita Anand and produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is China Collins, and the co-ordinator is Brenda Brown. The series is mixed by Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill.
A Child of the Moment
An Image of Truth
Chang Tzu and the Butterfly
The Divinest Part of Us
The Birth of Exploration
On Difference
Justice Without Bondage
The Liberal Option
From Expansion to Improvement
The Search For A New Order
The Troubled Giant
Wanted: An Instrument For Crisis Management
From Technocracy to Democracy
European Foreign Policy Towards Asia & the Soviet Bloc
The American Connection
The French Spirit and the British Intruder
Melting Pot or Bag of Marbles?
A Common Ground
The Loss of the Stable State
Social Cohesion and Human Nature
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