The Culture Transplant - is diversity really our strength?

In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by Garett Jones, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of three books known as the Singapore Trilogy.

In his latest book The Culture Transplant, Garett demonstrates that immigrants retain the socio-economic norms of their mother country across multiple generations. He claims that full assimilation within a generation or two is therefore impossible. Instead, the cultural attitudes of the immigrants shape the institutions and influence the economic productivity of their new country.

Garett and William discuss the implications of this for migration policy, particularly in the most innovative Western nations. They agree that moderate levels of migration bring many benefits, but mass migration from poor to rich countries could ultimately “wound the goose that lays the golden eggs of global innovation and worldwide prosperity.”

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/

The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Elections across the world are increasingly being won by parties described as ‘populist’, but what does the term actually mean?

According to our national broadcaster, it means “far right-wing, neo-fascist, xenophobic, racist, anti-Islamist…(the list goes on)”. But they would say that, wouldn’t they?

Parties described as ‘populist’ may be economically left-leaning, right leaning or centrist - some are Social Democrats - but they are unified in representing the values and aspirations of an electorate let down by the establishment parties and institutions.

A vote for any ‘populist’ party is a vote for patriotism, nation state, secure borders, family, faith and community – a sense of rootedness and identity.

It is a vote against excessive individualism, globalisation, unchecked free-market capitalism, open labour markets and supra-national organisations.

Populism is a revolution against social and economic neoliberalism, an ideology which has grotesquely overreached and is now – thankfully! - destroying itself thanks to its inherent contradictions.

Rod Liddle and William Clouston discuss the roots of neoliberalism, its impacts on our society, and its current demise.

Good riddance, says Rod: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/good-riddance-to-neoliberalism/

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/

Promoted by R. Malyn on behalf of the Social Democratic Party at 272 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JR

What the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities

In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by writer and research analyst Rakib Ehsan, who specialises in matters of social cohesion, race relations and public security.

In his new book Beyond Grievance: what the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities, Rakib highlights the growing tensions between the liberal-Left cosmopolitanism of the mainstream political parties and the patriotic faith-based conservatism in many of Britain’s ethnic-minority communities. He argues that Britain needs a robust civic patriotism which understands that a stable family unit is the best form of social security.

The SDP rejects the current obsession with grievance and identity which divides our society into hostile and opposing camps. We favour strengthening the common bonds which unite us and, in so doing, reinforcing communitarian impulses in public life. Our policies seek to defend and support traditional family life, particularly in welfare and economic policy, education and housing.

Rakib and William discuss the impacts of tribal identity politics on social cohesion, and identify the steps that need to be taken to create a more unified and tolerant society.

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/

Promoted by R. Malyn on behalf of the Social Democratic Party, 272 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JR

In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss how the SDP would tackle the UK’s housing crisis.

The shortage of affordable homes is the largest domestic problem facing the UK. It entrenches immobility between generations and between regions, stifles everyone’s potential and cuts the productivity of the entire country.

The SDP have a suite of policies to tackle the shortage by reinvigorating state housebuilding and removing market distortions which prevent housing supply meeting demand.

But with a rapidly changing population, how should house-building targets be calculated?

Link to SDP housing policy: https://sdp.org.uk/policies/housing/

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/

Promoted and Published by R Malyn, Social Democratic Party, 272 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JR

Keynote address delivered by Party Leader William Clouston at the SDP Conference on 14th October 2023 in London.

The full transcript of the speech can be found here: https://sdp.org.uk/sdptalk/william-cloustons-speech-at-the-sdp-conference-church-house-westminster-saturday-14th-october-2023/

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/

The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

William Clouston, Liam Halligan, Kristian Niemietz and Charlotte Gill discuss "The UK housing crisis - causes and solutions" in a debate organised by the SDP and held in London on 19th September.

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/

The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by photographer, artist and author Laura Dodsworth.

We are constantly bombarded with attempts to influence our behaviour, our speech and even our thoughts. Some are overt and transparent, such as advertisements which seek to persuade you to buy their product instead of a competitor’s. Others are more insidious, such as the ‘nudge’ tactics and fear propaganda deployed by the Behavioural Insights Team during the Covid pandemic.

In their bestselling book Free Your Mind, Laura and her co-author Patrick Fagan discuss how to spot and resist the increasing manipulation present in our everyday lives. 

Why are some attempts at political or social manipulation more successful than others? Can such tactics ever be justified? And what are the implications for freedom of thought and for democracy?

Laura is also a guest speaker at the SDP Conference in October 2023.

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/

The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the Chinese economy.

After decades of spectacularly rapid growth to become the world’s second largest economy, China now seems to be faltering. 

Local government debt has risen sharply due to over-investment in infrastructure, while income from land sales and land taxes has plummeted.  Large corporations are defaulting on repayments to investors.  Youth unemployment is at a record high.  China’s workforce and consumer base is shrinking, while the cohort of retirees continues to grow.

This is sure to cause an extended period of low growth, but is the situation more serious than that?  And what are the likely political ramifications?

William and Michael discuss whether China’s current problems could develop into a crisis and consider the potential impacts on the global economy.

Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/