Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
There has been a spate of reports on youth unemployment recently, and Alan Milburn will warn of 'a generational, societal and economic catastrophe’ if we don't recognise that the welfare state was built for a different era, and must now change. The impact of such substantial debt, in both personal and public contexts, of Artificial Intelligence and the pervasive influence of social media present real challenges for young people. David Willetts set out the scale of the challenge at Share Alliance's Inter-generational Rebalancing Conference, and Professor Sir Julian Le Grand put his finger on the huge change in mindset that's required. It will require much more than tinkering with Labour Party leadership to sort this out. Background music: 'Metamorphosis' by Quincas Moreira
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Journeys of hope move forwards, not backwards; they need to keep moving, not get stuck in a rut. They need to build progress as we go forward, by discovering more about human capability and understanding. In this context, we somehow need to tackle the major challenges necessary in order to focus on global, not just national or regional, problems. Looking back at European Union membership with rose-tinted spectacles won't help us make that transition. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
The collapse in electoral support for both Labour and the Conservatives shows the extent to which central governments have become a black hole for people's economic wellbeing by freezing tax thresholds, clinging on to universal (as opposed to targeted) welfare, and failing to address the gulf of opportunity which is holding back so many young people. It's time for politicians of all colours to reflect the need for all to see the opportunity for individual ownership and empowerment. Background music: 'Something Is Wrong' by Sir Cubworth
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Paul Johnson's new book, 'Challenging Inequalities', sets out graphically the barriers to opportunity for young people whose early years are spent in disadvantage and poverty. When Sir Keith Joseph referred to breaking the cycle of deprivation, he wasn't referring to negative impositions from central government but looking for ways to deliver individual opportunity in order to give everyone the chance to fulfill their potential in life. Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
'Contemporary global inequalities are close to their early 20th century level, at the peak of Western imperialism': the World Inequality Report in 2022 laid bare the failure of the past one hundred years of socialism. It has failed to make any appreciable impact on wealth polarisation — in fact Russia has the highest wealth inequality in the world alongside Brazil, with a 'Gini Coefficient of 0.82. It's time to show how egalitarian capitalism can shift the dial. Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake Image source: Wikipedia/Credit Suisse
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Adam Smith's 'Wealth of Nations', now celebrating its 250th anniversary, celebrates the role of competition from the perspective of service providers; however the merit of enabling individual choice to underpin a sense of ownership and responsibility is central to individual empowerment. Meanwhile the key concepts of egalitarian capitalism should work alongside Adam Smith's time-proven economic analysis in order to provide participation for all. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Merryn Somerset Webb is Editor-in-Chief of MoneyWeek and a contributing editor and weekly columnist for the Financial Times. She has published a book called 'Share Power', showing not only where capitalism is going wrong, but also how every one of us can have the power to make it work for us. Larry Fink, Chair and CEO of BlackRock, also understands the problem. However 'Participation for all' is the key objective in Share Alliance's quest for a more egalitarian form of capitalism — Merryn's book and Larry's annual letter to shareholders move us strongly in the right direction. Background music: 'People Watching' by Sir Cubworth Image sources: Merryn Somerset Webb — Alchetron; Larry Fink — Wikipedia
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
For the past fifty years the world's conflicts have been powered by our addiction to oil, while the climate has continued to suffer. If concern about our environment is insufficient to break this addiction, perhaps the straw that breaks the camel's back is more likely to be the immense geopolitical and economic instability which results from relying on regions such as Russia and the Middle East. Could the current conflicts be the birth pangs of a new world order without fossil fuels? Background music: 'Addicted' by VYEN
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
There are a host of big issues facing young people, but lowering the voting age to 16 is not one of them. Student debt post-graduation is one of the biggest: as Gavin Williamson says, 'Saddling young people with eye-watering debts before they have even begun their working lives is more than unfair: it amounts to a levy on ambition'. Why can politicians not get out of the mindset of pandering to the elderly at the expense of the young? They need to learn what inter-generational rebalancing means. Background music: 'Something Is Wrong' by Sir Cubworth
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Universal Basic Income is frequently cited as the way to cope with the growing spectre of AI-driven mass unemployment; but there are few, if any, workable ideas on how to fund such welfare subservience. Universal participation would not only enable all to share in tech wealth creation, but also allow tech companies to benefit from people's involvement. Background music: 'Forever Yours' by Wayne Jones
Published:
