Spring 2009 | Public lectures and events | Video

Contributor(s): Professor Daniele Archibugi, Professor Michael Cox, George Monbiot | This panel will explore whether or not the concepts and practices of democracy can be extended beyond borders to embrace the global order. Panellists take sharply different views on this question and very lively debate is promised. Daniele Archibugi is professor of innovation, governance and public policy at Birkbeck College. Michael Cox is professor of international relations at LSE. George Monbiot is a bestselling author and a columnist for The Guardian newspaper.

Contributor(s): Jonah Goldberg | For nearly a century the political left has controlled the commanding heights of intellectual discourse by asserting, contrary to the evidence, that the left holds a monopoly on political virtue. The further you move from the left on the political spectrum, it is asserted, the closer you get to evil. "Fascism" has long served as the central prop in this drama. Fascism and evil are interchangeable terms, we are told. The reality is that while fascism may be evil, it has always been a leftist phenomenon. Jonah Goldberg is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and contributing editor to National Review. A USA Today contributor and former columnist for The Times in London, he has also written for the New Yorker, Commentary, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. His latest book is Liberal Fascism.

Contributor(s): Professor Danny Quah | China has, single-handedly, brought more people out of poverty than the rest of the world combined, and faster than anywhere else has been able to achieve. How can this continue? Danny Quah is professor of economics and head of the Department of Economics at LSE.

Contributor(s): Professor Chen Jian | Professor Chen offers a historian's overview of China's 1970s transformation and the beginning of global systemic change that this transformation helped create. Chen Jian is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs for 2008-09 at LSE. He is the Michael J Zak Chair of the History of US China Relations at Cornell University.

Contributor(s): Professor Philippe Aghion | In Wednesday's lecture Professor Aghion will focus on the relationship between market reforms and trust. Philippe Aghion is Robert C Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University.

Contributor(s): Dr Sabine Freizer, Professor Salome Zourabichvili | Sabine Freizer is Europe programme director of the International Crisis Group. Salome Zourabichvili is associate professor at Sciences Po, Paris and former foreign minister of Georgia.

Contributor(s): Professor John Worrall | Richard Dawkins and others claim that science and religion are incompatible. Others argue that on a more sophisticated view there is only the appearance of a clash. Who is right? John Worrall is professor of philosophy of science at LSE.

Contributor(s): Professor Philippe Aghion | In Tuesday's lecture Professor Aghion will discuss how policies inducing directed technical change can be designed to maximise sustainable growth. Philippe Aghion is Robert C Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University.

Contributor(s): Laurence Rees | Laurence Rees will be discussing his book and BBC series World War Two: behind closed doors. He will re-examine the key decisions made by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt during the war. Laurence Rees is an award-winning historian and documentary maker.

Contributor(s): Professor Philippe Aghion | In Monday's lecture Professor Aghion will lay down the framework to think about growth policy design. Philippe Aghion is Robert C Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University.