Why is there such resistance to public re-examination of the values we live by?

15th Oct 2008; 18:00

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Societal values both drive and constrain responses to the global challenges that we confront: can we hope to meet these challenges whilst working within the matrix of values that currently dominate in society? Is engaging with societal values a quixotic exercise – or the only hope that we have?

What is the role of opinion leaders and public figures in providing leadership in shifting societal values – and what are the sources of constraint that they experience? Who will need to blink first – government, or business? And what will be the response of the media?

In the first of a new series of RSA/WWF debates, our panel will include: Rita Clifton, chairman, Interbrand; Matthew Taylor, chief executive, RSA; David Nussbaum, chief executive, WWF UK; and Joss Garman, activist and co-founder, Plane Stupid.

Chair: Dr Edward Skidelsky, lecturer in philosophy, Exeter University

In association with WWF UK

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The RSA/WWF Debates:

This new series of RSA/WWF debates will focus on barriers to, and strategies for, the introduction of a broader set of values in current public discourse. Recognising that societal values both drive and constrain responses to the global challenges that we confront, the debates will ask: can we hope to meet these challenges whilst working within the matrix of values that currently dominate in society? Is engaging with societal values a quixotic exercise – or the only hope that we have?

The RSA has been at the forefront of tackling complex social, economic and environmental challenges and pioneering practical solutions for over 250 years.

WWF addresses global threats to people and nature such as climate change and the unsustainable consumption of the world's natural resources. It does this by influencing how governments, businesses and people think, learn and act in relation to the world around us, and by working with local communities to improve their livelihoods and the environment upon which we all depend.