We were delighted to launch our public lecture series with an illuminating address from our Council member, political economist and world expert on Keynes Robert Skidelsky, titled “Keynes for Today: Lessons for the Left”. The event marked the launch of Lord Skidelsky’s most recent work – Money and Government: A Challenge to Mainstream Economics – and PEF’s first publication, 10 Years Since The Crash: Causes, Consequences and the Way Forward.
Lord Skidelsky’s lecture covered a host of topics including: why the Left is always held to a higher standard on the economy than the Right; the dismantling of intellectual and institutional structures the Left relied on to achieve its goals under Thatcher; Labour’s macroeconomic framework in the run-up to the financial crisis; the utter failures of austerity; the conception of inequality as a macroeconomic issue; and the outline of a new political economy. The lecture was reprinted in full by the New Statesman on 10 October and can be found on their website. Alternatively, a transcript is available on our website.
The post-lecture discussion was kicked off by a comment from Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who outlined the challenges facing the Left as it tries to bring about a new political economy, and praised PEF for its work in this area thus far. Ann Pettifor then built on the themes in Lord Skidelsky’s lecture, arguing for a root-and-branch reform of the global financial architecture. Fellow PEF Council member John Weeks summed up the timely nature of these discussions: “For the first time I can remember, for the first time in many of your lives, the vision of a social democratic society is in reach. We need to keep our eyes on that goal.”
This was followed by a lively Q&A session, chaired by Johnna Montgomerie, with insightful commentary from economists, politicians, public sector workers, journalists, students, activists and other members of the public alike – we would like to thank everyone in attendance for such a stimulating and varied discussion. Finally, the evening closed with a drinks reception and book signing.
All photos of the event can be found on our Flickr page. Banner photo credit: Robert Skidelsky.
