Today's discussion in Bristol: "Why we can't afford the rich"

Today's talk:

GESF - Why we can't afford the rich

27 April 2015, 4.00 PM

Andrew Sayer

4.10, 35 Berkeley Square - Bristol

More details here: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/fssl/events/2015/cant-afford-the-rich.html

Hosted by: Globalisation, Education & Social Futures

Chair: Professor Susan L Robertson

Time: 4 - 5:30pm

 

About the book:

As inequalities widen and the effects of austerity deepen, in many countries the wealth of the rich has soared. Why we can’t afford the rich exposes the unjust and dysfunctional mechanisms that allow the top 1% to siphon off wealth produced by others, through the control of property and money. Leading social scientist Andrew Sayer shows how over the last three decades the rich worldwide have increased their ability to hide their wealth, create indebtedness and expand their political influence. Written accessibly for a wide readership, this important book uses simple distinctions to burst the myth of the rich as specially talented wealth creators. Furthermore, as the risk of runaway climate change grows, it shows how the rich are threatening the planet by banking on unsustainable growth. The author forcefully argues that the crises of economy and climate can only be resolved by radical change to make economies sustainable, fair and conducive to well-being for all.

 

Biography:

Andrew Sayer is Professor of Social Theory and Political Economy at Lancaster University, UK. He has a long-standing interest in moral economy and has written several books on political economy, inequality, class, and philosophy and ethics, including Radical Political Economy: A Critique (Blackwell, 1995); The Moral Significance of Class (2005) and Why Things Matter to People: Social Science, Values and Ethical Life (2011) (both Cambridge University Press).

 

Copies of the book will be available to purchase from PolicyPress before and after the talk.

--