Both men have challenged their own political parties and, through them, the country to look beyond the traditional left-right split over economic issues. They encourage us to look at the social structures to which people belong and in which they are formed and develop virtue, challenging the notion that ‘there is no such thing as society’ lying between the family and the state. Both have been influenced by religious thought, Christian and Jewish, on the essential role of community for human flourishing.
On this evening they will each present their ideas, including identifying what they have in common and the distinctive contribution each of them makes. There will then be time for audience interaction, not merely questions and answers.
This is a free event taking place in LAB 006 at Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridgeand there is no need to book. The best way to find room LAB 006 is to enter the campus through the main glass doors down the side in Broad Street. The room is then ahead and somewhat to the right.
The event is being organised by the university chaplaincy. Any inquiries to the Rev’d Nigel Cooper nigel.cooper@anglia.ac.uk, Tel: 0845 196 2398.
Speakers
Phillip Blond founded ResPublica in 2009 and is an academic, journalist and author. Prior to this he was a senior lecturer in theology and philosophy at the Universities of Exeter and Cumbria. He is the author of Red Tory (Faber and Faber 2010) which sought to redefine the centre ground of British politics around the ideas of civil association, mutual ownership and social enterprise. He has authored several reports available on the ResPublica website. His ideas have influenced the agenda around the Big Society and civil renewal and have helped to redefine British and international politics. He has written for many newspapers and is a frequent broadcaster – appearing on the BBC and Sky as well as foreign media. Through both his writing and speaking Phillip argues for a new economic and social politics based around free association and group formation.
Maurice Glasman is a Labour Peer and Reader in Political Theory at London Metropolitan University. He is the author of Unnecessary Suffering (Verso 1996) and one of the creators of Blue Labour. He is a writer and speaker, e.g. Labour as a radical tradition available online. His central concern is how to strengthen civic institutions within the body politic and resist the domination of the state and the market. He is married with four children and lives in Stoke Newington in London.
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