Manchester Salon
public discussion forum for debating and engaging ideas
Next Discussion
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Making sense of the recessionMarch 2009
To really make sense of the crisis, societies need to discuss and debate the kind of economies they want: what their attitude to growth is; what sort of needs and wants they feel should be provided for. For decades now political discussion of this sort has been off the agenda, rendered unnecessary by the harsh logic of TINA: 'there is no alternative'. Instead, we have seen economics depoliticized and reduced to nothing more than a matter of technical adjustment and regular servicing, keeping the economic engine clean and rust-free.
Should we settle for a new austerity economics and an ethos of restraint? Should we go along with those who seek to redefine happiness as only a matter of how you feel and not what you have? Do we also need to be examining the role of production in society, even making the case for more growth?
Angus Kennedy from the Institute of Ideas and Emerging Economies Forum will introduce and lead the discussion.
ReadingsMick Hume, Wild claims and wildcat strikes, spiked, 4 February 2009 |
