Listen "From Expansion to Improvement"
Episode Synopsis
This year's Reith lecturer is the eminent German-British sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf. Previously a Professor of Sociology at the Universities of Hamburg, Tübingen and Konstanz, he has been a leading figure for liberal politics and an authority on class divisions in modern society. In 1970 he became the European Commissioner in Brussels before taking over as Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1974. In his Reith series entitled 'The New Liberty', he questions the definition of freedom.In his first Reith lecture entitled 'From Expansion to Improvement', Ralf Dahrendorf argues that we should think about autonomy in a new light. He explores how philosophy, sociology and economics all affect our elemental desires and the definition of freedom. He reflects on the evolution of liberty and questions how we could improve our lives.
More episodes of the podcast The Reith Lectures: Archive 1948-1975
The Birth of Exploration
12/11/1975
On Difference
04/12/1974
Justice Without Bondage
27/11/1974
The Liberal Option
20/11/1974
The Search For A New Order
19/12/1973
The Troubled Giant
28/11/1973
Wanted: An Instrument For Crisis Management
12/12/1972
From Technocracy to Democracy
05/12/1972
The American Connection
21/11/1972