Corruption at government level and within society is discussed by Assoc. Prof. Tim Kuhner from the University of Auckland during the 2019 Raising the Bar night.

Listen to Assoc. Prof. Tim Kuhner on how corruption has intensified inequality around the world

Donald Trump has made corruption in the United States more famous than ever. But American democracy was downright rotten before Trump, says Tim Kuhner, and this talk explains why that is - and why New Zealanders should care.

It turns out that, despite its reputation as one of the least corrupt countries, New Zealand has serious vulnerabilities to government of, by, and for the wealthy.

Tim explains why that is and why, if you don't already care about this, you should!

Corruption, plutocracy, and kleptocracy will all be household names after this talk. And yet, it's not a total downer - it turns out that there are ample reasons for hope.

About the speaker

Tim Kuhner is a writer and law professor known for his critical approaches to the state of democracy today. He is the author of Capitalism v. Democracy: Money in Politics and the Free Market Constitution (Stanford University Press, 2014), a book that received acclaim from the Harvard Law Review, Thomas Piketty, and Lawrence Lessig. He is also the co-editor of Democracy by the People (Cambridge University Press, 2018), an edited volume on campaign finance reform. Tim teaches courses on anti-corruption law and comparative constitutional law at the University of Auckland.

Raising the Bar was recorded in association with the University of Auckland

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details