Academy of Ideas

#BattleFest2021: The post-pandemic recovery: how is it going?

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THE POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY: HOW IS IT GOING?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021:https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-post-pandemic-recovery-how-is-it-going/
Will the post-pandemic recovery continue? Why has the UK economy experienced such a long period of relative stagnation, with productivity barely growing for years? What, if anything, can be done to change this dynamic? How can living standards be boosted in more deprived areas? The Covid-related economic crisis is itself unlikely to ‘change everything’, but to what extent could it be the catalyst for accelerating economic changes already underway?

#BattleFest2021: Can sport survive the culture wars?

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CAN SPORT SURVIVE THE CULTURE WARS?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/can-sport-survive-the-culture-wars/
Is sport in danger of being consumed by these wider cultural issues or is it part of a healthy cleansing process? Is the praise heaped upon Biles and Osaka a sign that sport needs to change to put athletes wellbeing first?

#BattleFest2021: Care for the elderly: the forgotten minority?

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CARE FOR THE ELDERLY: THE FORGOTTEN MINORITY?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021:https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/care-for-the-elderly-the-forgotten-minority/
Negative attitudes to the elderly go far beyond financial support. Long before COVID, social policy has been ambivalent about increased longevity. Far from being treated as unalloyed good news, the trend has often been problematised as a demographic time bomb, a financial burden to be paid for by the young and a drain on the NHS. Are these problems solely down to governments? If politicians have out-sourced elderly care, have some families themselves done the same, with Covid only highlighting the underlying weaknesses in intergenerational family bonds? How should we view care of the elderly in the future? What lessons have we learnt from the pandemic?

#BattleFest2021: From GB News to Ben & Jerry’s - boycotts or censorship?

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FROM GB NEWS TO BEN & JERRY’S: BOYCOTTS OR CENSORSHIP?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/from-gb-news-to-ben-jerrys-boycotts-or-censorship/
If boycotts are simply legitimate expressions of preference or political opinion, can we complain about them? Or, if they stray into the territory of suppressing political debate, do they then become more of a threat? Are boycotts an attack on free expression or a weapon for those fighting for accountability? How has the use of boycotts changed over the years, and why have they become so contentious?

#BattleFest2021: How to fight cancel culture and win

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THE FSU FILES: HOW TO FIGHT CANCEL CULTURE AND WIN
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-fsu-files-how-to-fight-cancel-culture-and-win/
What is it like to be publicly shamed for your views or beliefs, to have your words scrutinised by an employment tribunal or even by the police? More importantly, what inspires some to stand their ground and make their struggle public? Are new communities and movements beginning to flourish around freedom of speech? And how can we successfully defend individual speech rights, campaign for greater legislative protection and try to turn the tide on the wave of intolerance sweeping through our institutions?

#BattleFest2021: Girl, boy, other: how do we talk to kids about gender?

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GIRL, BOY, OTHER: HOW DO WE TALK TO KIDS ABOUT GENDER?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/girl-boy-other-how-do-we-talk-to-kids-about-gender/
How should we talk to kids about gender – if at all? Is it small-minded to feel uncomfortable about a more open discussion of sex and identity, particularly with younger children at school? Or are we allowing political trends in the adult world interfere with what’s best for kids? Is it a sign of a problem or an expression of greater freedom that, in recent years, there has been a notable increase in young people feeling alienated from their given gender identity? Should children’s gender identity be given the space to be playful, and does the toxic debate in the adult world risk putting limitations on that space for childish exploration?

#BattleFest2021: Is it time to rethink the precautionary principle?

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IS IT TIME TO RETHINK THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/is-it-time-to-rethink-the-precautionary-principle/
Can we treat decisions about something like a pandemic in the same way as those to do with the environment and new technologies, like artificial intelligence? Or has this pandemic shown us that we need to consider each new threat in a more holistic way, considering the economy, well-being and people’s freedoms as much as the direct threat to health? Is it time to finally depoliticise precaution and treat each case as unique? Or with political alignments becoming as important as the dispassionate assessment of risk, will the precautionary principle remain another victim of the all-encompassing ‘culture wars’?

#BattleFest2021: Is levelling up really levelling down? The great inequality debate

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IS LEVELLING UP REALLY LEVELLING DOWN? THE GREAT INEQUALITY DEBATE
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/is-levelling-up-really-levelling-down-the-great-inequality-debate/
This debate was run in partnership with the Ayn Rand Centre UK.
So equality of opportunity – or perhaps more radically, allowing everyone (more or less) to have the same income – is a no brainer. If the economic consequences of the pandemic are that the poor seem to have got poorer while the wealthy have done even better, tackling this disparity should be a priority for policy. But is equality really all it is cracked up to be? While everyone would agree that poverty is a bad thing, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone should get the same. Even those on minimum wage in the UK are much better off than people in poorer but more equal countries. People vary in how talented, skilful and hard-working they are, but would people take risks or slog to get qualifications if there were no material benefit to themselves?