DEBT AND DEMOCRACY

At what point does debt begin to impact on our democracy? A population increasingly oppressed by the rule of credit and forced into debt servitude is a population unable to think, act, create and organise. For the good of ourselves, our country and our world - what kind of alternative economy can we build to replace the current debt fuelled financial system? What is the best way to make banks work for the common good? Is it time for a global Jubilee? Does the blockchain hold any answers?

Featuring:

SARAH JAYNE CLIFTON, DIRECTOR OF JUBILEE DEBT CAMPAIGN - part of a global movement demanding freedom from the slavery of unjust debts and a new financial system that puts people first. Inspired by the ancient concept of ‘jubilee’, they campaign for a world where debt is no longer used as a form of power by which the rich exploit the poor. Freedom from debt slavery is a necessary step towards a world in which our common resources are used to realise equality, justice and human dignity.

DAVID GRAEBER is an American born, London based anthropologist and anarchist activist perhaps best known for his 2011 book ‘Debt: the First 5000 Years.’ He is professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics. Graeber was a leading figure in the Occupy Wall Street movement and is sometimes credited with having coined the slogan “We are the 99 percent.”

JONATHAN BARTLEY. Co-leader of the Green Party.

NEW ECONOMICS FOUNDATION is a think tank that aims to help build a new economy where people are really in control. It was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working with q new model of wealth creation based on equality, diversity and economic stability. Its programmes include work on housing, reform of the financial system, the future of work, democracy and devolution and climate and environment.