How can we solve our biggest social and economic problems if the people in power so rarely understand what it’s really like to be at the sharp end?
The pandemic exposed and intensified the deep-rooted problems gripping the nation – from poverty to precarity to underfunded public services. But social distance has been at the heart of our biggest challenges since long before Covid-19 struck: in particular, the distance that those in power often keep from the issues they are in charge of solving.
If proximity to a problem makes us better placed to understand how to address it, then it’s no wonder we are faltering. The distance – be it geographical, economic, or cultural – between those who make decisions and those on the receiving end of them has never been clearer, and the parameters of the discussion about social inequality are set by those who have little experience of it. Prize-winning writer, commentator and rapper Darren McGarvey interrogates the social remoteness at the root of our biggest problems, and explores what it would take to centre lived experience in developing clear-sighted, hopeful solutions.
Want to watch this event at RSA House?
For those wishing to gather with friends or colleagues to watch in-person, this event will be live-streamed on The Steps in The Coffee House on the day of the event from 13:00.
