It has been proposed that our U3A should offer a Political Economy (PolEcon) group.

What do we mean by PolEcon? Economists like to make the much disputed claim their subject is a science based on immutable laws like in physics. However, economics has never been a neutral science but a social practice which describes how human beings organise the resources available to them. The application of economic ideas affects us all and requires choices to be made and in that sense is political.

One example. There is ample evidence that the economic system we have lived under for almost half a century is failing most of us. It is largely responsible for two of the greatest problems the world faces; widening inequality and a reluctance to take climate change seriously. We are told ‘there is no alternative’, but there is. In contrast, the system in operation between 1945 and the late 1970s reduced inequality to the lowest level ever seen in the UK.

Whether you think you could do better than the Chancellor or just want to be better informed on these matters, this could be the group for you.

Please contact Andrew via the email link above to register an interest.