Academy Of Ideas

Debate hosted by the Academy of Ideas Education Forum on 4 March 2021. INTRODUCTION A large survey undertaken by the NHS in July 2020 found that a staggering one in six children now have a ‘probable mental health disorder’. Since that report we have had another school lockdown. Anne Longfield, the outgoing Children’s Commissioner for England, argued that ‘damage to children’s mental health caused by the Covid crisis could last for years without a large-scale increase for children’s mental health services’. It is widely accepted that lockdown and school closures have had a detrimental effect on young people, but what does that really mean? Some argue that a year of severe disruption to schooling has limited children’s educational, social and intellectual development, with the likelihood of knock-on effects on the future university and career prospects of GCSE and A Level students. But are the NHS, Children’s Commissioner and others unnecessarily catastrophising the state of children’s mental health? Have t

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: What is it like to fall in love in today, when there seems to be so many more factors involved in intimacy than the feelings of two people? Is the isolation and atomisation of love (or lack of it) in lockdown new, or merely an extreme catalysing of a familiar trend in modern dating? How do we balance the desire to right the wrongs of the past, with an understanding that the intimate encounters we often cherish the most are the ones that took us by surprise? As John Fowles wrote in The French Lieutenant’s Woman, while it’s often futile to be nostalgic, was love and intimacy more hopeful when we were less concerned with controlling the outcome, when ‘strangers were strange, and sometimes with an exciting, beautiful strangeness’? Or are we stuck in an arcane view of how love works – should we be open to a new definition which ditches a reliance on uncontrollable feelings like butterflies in your stomach or sweat on your brow? How risky is it to fall in love today – and what does love and intimac

ARTS & SOCIETY FORUM: At one time, classical music was rigorously defended – both by the sector and within wider society – because of its unique stature as the epitome of the European music tradition and its alignment with Enlightenment ideals. But who defends classical music today? Should it be defended? Is it time to shake up the genre, make it more accessible, and embrace the sentiment of John Gilhooly, director of Wigmore Hall who says, “In many ways all this is a purification, a chance to start again.” Or is there something intrinsic to the genre that we should seek to preserve? Do we still believe in the transcendental qualities of high art and the concept of art for arts’ sake? Should we defend our traditions or embrace the new normal and move with the times? Gabriella Swallow,  Stephen Johnson, Ivan Hewett and Dolan Cummings discuss.

BOOK LAUNCH: In their latest book, The Corona Generation, author Jennie Bristow and her daughter Emma Gilland consider the effects of lockdown on the generation currently coming of age: the demographic currently known as ‘Generation Z’. In this online book launch hosted by the Academy of Ideas, the Parents Forum and the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies, Jennie and Emma talk to Ella Whelan.

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: What should be the role of social media today? If the public square – universities, schools, workplaces, pubs, parks and polling booths – are under some form of lockdown or restriction, is the internet the only viable place to quickly and freely share ideas? And, if so, should we begin to understand Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Reddit as publishers, platforms or (virtual) public spaces? What kind of regulation – if any – do we need to ensure healthy debate, and what are the legal implications for such changes? In short, in a world when everyone (even David Attenborough) seems to have an online presence, what role does Big Tech play today – and what should it be in the ‘new normal’ of the post-pandemic world? Discussed by Rob Lyons, Andrew Orlowski, Timandra Harkness and Nico Macdonald.

Two weeks into the new year and one week into a new lockdown, the Academy of Ideas team come together (via zoom) to look at the key questions posed by the pandemic. How balanced has the discussion been around lockdown - has free speech suffered? What changing role have the media or the police played? What are the long-term effects of lockdown, from the economy to public will? And what is our route out of this - vaccine, resilience or a reinvigoration of freedom?

Smart people have become too powerful. That’s the claim made by social commentator David Goodhart in his latest book Head, Hand, Heart: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century.  The talent to pass exams and handle information efficiently, he argues, has become the gold standard of human esteem. Those with a generous helping of such aptitude have formed a new class – a ‘mass elite’ – which now shapes society in its own interests. For those employed in manual work or the caring professions it’s another matter. “It is becoming harder to feel satisfaction and self-respect living an ordinary, decent life, especially in the bottom part of the income spectrum”, writes Goodhart. Brexit and Trump have frequently been criticised because of the low intelligence or poor education of their working-class voters. Yet the recent wave of Covid-related school closures and exam cancellations suggests that academic values aren’t all-conquering either. The pandemic has seen a re-evaluation of the importance of

LOCKDOWN DEBATES: During the summer, the lockdown measures imposed in March were dismantled piece by piece. We were even encouraged in August to ‘eat out to help out’. But in the past few weeks, more and more restrictions have been imposed across countries and regions, including the return of lockdown in Wales and Ireland. Can we continue to live with lockdowns and restrictions, or should we find different ways to manage the risk? Indeed, how do we decide? Should we adopt a ‘consequentialist’ approach, adding up the ‘best guess’ costs and benefits of each policy and choosing the one that causes the least harm? Do we choose to emphasise rights and freedoms and live with the consequences as best we can? How should we move forward? Emily Barley, Rob Lyons and Alan Miller discuss.

ECONOMY FORUM: The idea of a green recovery from the current slump almost seems like a self-evident good. Who would not want the economy to reach and then exceed the levels of output achieved before the Covid-19 pandemic? And who would not support a cleaner environment or the creation of large numbers of jobs? But dig a little deeper and it becomes clear that things are not as straightforward as they seem. What, for example, are advocates of a green new deal arguing for when they call for a ‘reset’ of the economy? Is the new economy they envisage as positive as it first sounds? Why do they put so much emphasis on tackling inequality? Daniel Ben-Ami and Rob Lyons discuss.

BOOK LAUNCH: In his new book, Democracy Under Siege: don’t let them know it down!, Professor Frank Furedi argues that fear of democracy has almost always been a feature of Western society. He argues that, today, the moral authority of democracy is being openly questioned in the most explicit way since the 1930s. From Ancient Athens to present-day Brussels, Furedi reveals how democracy has never fully been realised, as elites throughout the centuries sought to temper and limit the influence that the masses had in political life. He concludes that even under the shadow of the pandemic, democracy must not be put on hold. Rather than fearing populist sentiments, an aspiration for solidarity should be cultivated in order to foster a tradition of political participation and debate. Frank Furedi and Ella Whelan discuss.

BOOK LAUNCH: Family life seems to be increasingly under attack. Some argue that a lack of authority in both the classroom and the home has resulted in rising numbers of children reporting concerns about their mental health. Others argue that parents pose a threat to children’s development, stifling their ability to become their true selves. Families being locked up together during the pandemic has sparked concerns among commentators that a rise in child abuse and neglect is inevitable. So serious is parenting for some that even White House terrier Kellyanne Conway quit her role citing concerns about parenting during the pandemic. For now, she said, it’ll be ‘less drama, more mama’. Nancy McDermott and Dr Jan Macvarish discuss.

EDUCATION FORUM: Is our school system too obsessed with exams to the detriment of our young people’s intellectual development? Or, for all their potential flaws, are exams the most egalitarian and meritocratic form of student assessment? David Perks, principal of East London Science School and Alex Standish, Geography teacher trainer and author, discuss.

BOOK CLUB: Not just the story of one wedding, but of many, this compelling story offers insights into issues of race, prejudice and identity while maintaining its firm belief in the compensatory power of love. Through a delicate interweaving of past and present, North and South, black and white, The Wedding unfolds outward from a single isolated time and place until it embraces five generations of an extraordinary American family. It is an audacious accomplishment, a monumental history of the rise of a black middle class, written by a writer who lived it. Wise, heartfelt, and shattering, it is Dorothy West’s crowning achievement. Helen Searls introduces this book club. 

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: In the past six months, citizens have had their right to protest quashed, their free speech attacked (with restrictions on social media about alternative public-health messages) and their ability to ‘mingle’ made illegal. In any other situation, this would be unthinkable. Does living under a virus mean having to sacrifice our civil liberties? Is it right to push back on the idea that anyone who questions new restrictions is a ‘covidiot’ or even unsympathetic to the seriousness of the virus? Should we be worried about the effects of asking citizens to ‘snitch’ on each other in an already atomised and isolated public sphere? And does the government’s rush to implement ever-tighter rules on social interaction set a dangerous precedent - especially if dealing with pandemics becomes part of the ‘new normal’? Silkie Carlo, Luke Gittos, Patrick O’Flynn, Ruth Smeeth and Claire Fox discuss. All Academy of Ideas online events are free - if you are in a position to be able to donate, we’d greatly appre

SOCIAL POLICY FORUM: Beyond Covid, there are a number of arguments put forward in favour of WFH, from improving wellbeing to cutting down CO2 emissions. It certainly looks hip – as well as a bit Silicon Valley – to write off physical proximity as old-fashioned, and to greet a new regime that is mostly WFH as ‘inevitable’. But what of the wider consequences? Might not your job be shifted elsewhere, where work comes cheaper? What of the impact on high streets and the wider economy? Which of these changes are a consequence of the virus and which were coming anyway? Will they be a temporary arrangement to be abandoned with the passing of the pandemic or will they become a permanent fixture of the New Normal? Adam Garrie, Para Mullan, James Woudhuysen, Dave Clements and Mo Lovatt discuss.

SCOTLAND SALON: Is the Hate Crime Bill an important new protection for vulnerable groups? Does it go too far in attempting to do so? Could the bill’s critics be reassured by more precise language? Conversely, should the Scottish government be legislating at all to restrict free speech, even when it is offensive and designed to stir up hatred? Can we distinguish between words and actions? Should the very notion of a ‘hate crime’ be challenged? Jim Sillars, Dr Carlton Brick and Laurence Fox discuss. (With guest appearance from John Cleese.)

ECONOMY FORUM BOOK LAUNCH: Reactions to the coronavirus pandemic have escalated the pre-existing tensions between the US and China and among different Western nations. Confrontations between political globalists and mercantilist nationalists - between supporters of the rules-based international order and proponents of overt protectionism - are fuelling ever-stronger international resentments. Coupling argumentative rigour with a pragmatic, plainspoken approach, Phil Mullan charts a novel, democratic way past dangerous and self-defeating confrontations towards a future of open international collaboration based on popular participation within nation states. With its clear-eyed assessment of the opportunities and challenges of a more interconnected world - an assessment in which the economic internationalisation underpinning globalisation theories is neither romanticised nor vilified - Beyond Confrontation sets a judicious tone for the big geopolitical themes of our times. Phil Mullan and Rob Lyons discuss.

SCOTLAND SALON: Some commentators, politicians and business leaders seem to see the main role of schools and universities as preparing young people for work. Others see schools as a means to mould students to make them better citizens. Many educators have focused on the damage to children and young people’s mental health caused by the pandemic and subsequent lockdown and believe we should focus on a more therapeutic approach within the learning environment. Have we given up on knowledge for knowledge’s sake? Professor Lindsay Paterson and Dr Penny Lewis discuss.

ARTS & SOCIETY FORUM: What future do the arts have after the economic disruption wrought by the lockdown and post-lockdown precautionary measures? Theatres, concert venues, cinemas and festivals may be the worst hit, having lost months’ worth of box-office revenues. What should the role of government be in aiding the recovery of the arts? Should the government increase subsidies? Is this an opportunity for completely rethinking the arts, as some people are suggesting, clearing out the dross to allow the pearls to shine through? How do we create an environment in which the arts can thrive again? Jonathan Baz, Manick Govinda, Mo Lovatt, Joel Mills and Alison Small discuss.

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: Have voters really given up on politicians and the political system more widely? Is there any possibility of the country rallying around the president or is politics simply hopelessly divided? Is America’s position as the leading global power under threat and what impact will this have on the elections? What is needed to inject political direction into the 2020 elections? Sohrab Ahmari, Dr Richard Johnson, Wendy Kaminer, Helen Searls and Michael Tracey discuss.