The Battle for Progress

The Institute of Ideas debate

What does 'progress' mean in the 21st century? Despite 'globalisation' the world remains unequal and old economic models seem outdated. New thinking questions whether Western ideas about progress damage traditional ways of life. Climate change has added impetus to the debate, with the world's poor often presented as on the frontline of imagined global catastrophe. But when the West preaches sustainable development, is there a danger of hypocritical eco-imperialism?

Speakers include John Hilary, Executive Director of War On Want, Ceri Dingle, Director of the education and development charity, WORLDwrite, Lee Jones, researcher in international relations, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, and Michael Redclift, Professor of International Environmental Policy in the Department of Geography at King's College, London

Chair: Claire Fox, Director, Institute of Ideas.