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.
The Environment of Faith
Towards the Light
Remembering the Somme
Highways of Freedom
The Golden Fleece
The Time Traveller
The Paradox of Gorbachev's Reforms
Religion and the Atheist State
The Flawed Melting Pot
A Civil Society In Embryo
The Return Of The Repressed
A Great Power in Crisis
Stand Up and Be Misunderstood
Let the People Sing
A Licence for Licence
Past and Present
An Orchid In the Field of Technology
The Old Warhorse
Lions Under the Throne
An Enormous Power
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