What on earth is the national interest?
Analysis23 Loka 2023

What on earth is the national interest?

Should we be sceptical when politicians claim to act in "the national interest"? The phrase is frequently trotted out to elevate policy and actions as unimpeachably serving us all. But what does it actually mean? So far the Oxford English Dictionary has steered clear of pinning down this "slippery" term. Mark Damazer digs up its historical roots and talks to politicians, prime-ministerial speechwriters and policymakers to define a term that can obscure as much as it elucidates. Is its use just cynical high grounding or does it speak of a sincere effort to disentangle policy from personal or party interests? Is the national interest best served by a strong civic landscape where differing visions of “the national interest” are free to battle it out?

Presenter: Mark Damazer Producer: David Reid Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors: Michael Gove, Minister for Levelling up, Housing and Communities Angela Rayner, shadow deputy prime minister and shadow levelling up secretary Phil Collins, former prime-ministerial speechwriter Munira Mirza, former Director of the No10 Policy Unit Dame Linda Colley, Professor of History at Princeton Fiona McPherson, Senior Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, specialising in new words

Jaksot(389)

Company vs Country

Company vs Country

Michael Robinson asks what lies behind the boom in companies suing governments.

30 Maalis 201528min

Two-Nation Britain

Two-Nation Britain

Jeremy Cliffe of The Economist asks if our real political divide is between those who feel comfortable in liberal, diverse, urban Britain and those who do not - the cosmopolitans vs the rest. He argue...

23 Maalis 201528min

Caring in the New Old Age

Caring in the New Old Age

Is it time to rethink how we care for older people, to enable them to have fulfilling lives? In recent years the media has highlighted terrible cases of paid carers abusing and neglecting vulnerable, ...

16 Maalis 201528min

The End of Development

The End of Development

Over recent decades, the richer world has poured money towards poorer countries, in the form of aid and loans for development over many decades. But is this top-down solution really effective? Anthrop...

9 Maalis 201528min

When Robots Steal Our Jobs

When Robots Steal Our Jobs

Technology has been replacing manufacturing jobs for years. Is the same about to happen to white-collar work? Will new faster, smarter computers start destroying more jobs than they create?Technologis...

2 Maalis 201528min

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Should we beware the machines? Professor Stephen Hawking has warned the rise of Artificial Intelligence could mean the end of the human race. He's joined other renowned scientists urging computer prog...

23 Helmi 201528min

Downward Social Mobility

Downward Social Mobility

Social mobility is a good thing - right? Politicians worry that not enough people from less-privileged backgrounds get the opportunity to move up in life. But are we prepared to accept that others los...

16 Helmi 201528min

You Can't Say That

You Can't Say That

Does free speech include a right to cause offence? Many thinkers have insisted that it must - but debate has raged for millennia over where the limits to insult can be set. While some maintain Enlight...

9 Helmi 201528min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-asiastudio
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-tekkipodi
io-techin-tekniikkapodcast
linda-maria
the-ulkopolitist
rss-polikulaari-humanisti-vastaa-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat