Post-G20 Public Summit: Battle for the Economy - www.battleofideas.org.uk

Are we culturally disinclined to embrace productive economic activity? For too long we have parroted the mantras of the Knowledge Economy; maybe we took policy-pundit Charlie Leadbeater’s script, Living on Thin Air, too literally. The dynamism, social aspiration, educational excellence and visionary infrastructural projects on show in China and India might remind us why productivity matters. While we talk up innovation in the UK, in practice we seem wary of experimentation, risk-taking, competition and ambition. Is the Western acceptance of the need to limit growth, whether for fear of environmental Armageddon or becaue excess wealth leads to greed and ‘unhappiness’, at odds with aspirations for future development? What should progressives aspire to when investing in the future?

Speakers:
Jeremy Sice, Publicis Consultants
Eliot Forster, Solace Pharmaceuticals
Deepak Lal, UCLA
Rob Killick, cScape

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