23 February 2010
Undergraduate members from Social Policy Societies at LSE (London School of Economics) and the University of Bristol met at a conference at the School for Policy Studies on 3 February 2010. Organised to give students the opportunity to discuss and debate current social policy issues, the combined Societies heard three speakers from the School speak on the subjects of “New Capitalism”, “Wealth in Britain” and “Rural Poverty”. The conference ended with an open forum where students debated the issues raised.
Dr Kevin Doogan’s lecture on New Capitalism explored the perception that the job market in our post-industrial society is less secure as a result of globalisation and technological innovation. Questioning the commonly-held assumption that there are no more jobs for life as the labour market destabilises and we are told to expect to see the end of waged labour, the discussion looked at where this narrative is coming from and why, and, if this supposition is actually borne out by the facts. An audio recording of the “New Capitalism” lecture is available here.
In the second lecture, Dr Eldin Fahmy argued that we need to develop a better understanding of wealth before we can truly comprehend the full extent of poverty. Historically, there has been more research into poverty producing a situation where we have far more data and facts about poverty than we do about wealth and the wealthy. He argued that in order to create effective policy that will address the growing gap between rich and poor, we need this information to give us a true picture of the inequality that exists between the extremes of the social spectrum. You can listen to the full lecture of "Wealth in Britain 1971-2001" here.
Finally, Dr Simon Pemberton presented a series of video diaries produced by those living in rural poverty. These testimonies clearly demonstrated that the effects of poverty are exacerbated by living in a rural location where travel costs are greater, employment opportunities are fewer and lower paid, and access to services such as doctors and job centres is limited. To make matters worse, people are also often contending with negative stereotypes and a far greater sense of isolation.
It is hoped that this will become a regular reciprocal event, providing an opportunity for students to discuss and “cross-fertilise” their ideas outside their respective universities.