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Last broadcast on Mon, 27 Sep 2010, 21:30 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
Andrew Marr talks to the economist Will Hutton about the need to transform a country blighted by inequality and indebted to big finance. While Will Hutton argues for a fairer society, Lars Kroijer comes clean about the life and decisions of a hedge fund manager. Also arguing for greater fairness is Billy Ivory whose latest screenplay, Made In Dagenham, charts the walkout of the women workers at the Ford car plant who fought for equal pay in the 1960s. Women demonstrators form the backbone of Ronit Avni's new documentary film, which shows how one community organiser united both Palestinian and Israeli supporters to save his village from destruction by Israel's Separation Barrier.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
WILL HUTTON
As Britain grapples with the recession and a vast public debt crisis, what direction should the country take? The economics commentator Will Hutton asserts that Britain’s fundamental economic, political and social problems can only be tackled by increasing levels of fairness. In his book, Them and Us, Hutton argues that Britain has paid a high price for running its capitalism unfairly and sets out an approach which he believes combines libertarian and egalitarian principles. The financial, media and political systems need reforming, and the required changes should be based on a firm moral framework with fairness as the guiding principle.
Them and Us: Changing Britain – Why We Need a Fair Society is published by Little, Brown.
LARS KROIJER
Lars Kroijer was still in his twenties when he sat down with a piece of paper and wrote “how to start a hedge fund” at the top. His book, Money Mavericks, explains how he launched a London hedge fund: charting the triumphs and catastrophes involved in managing money during the boom years. He talks about how hedge funds have gained an unfair reputation for being “fee-charging gambling dens” and explains why the real workings of this world are still little understood.
Money Mavericks: Confessions of a Hedge Fund Manager is published by FT Prentice Hall.
BILLY IVORY
Made in Dagenham tells the true story of the 1968 strike by women working at Dagenham’s Ford factory. After the strike brought production at Ford to a halt, the women’s case was taken up by the employment minister, Barbara Castle, who negotiated a settlement. The women’s fight for a fair wage had a vast impact, resulting in the 1970 Equal Pay Act. The screenwriter Billy Ivory discusses the challenges involved in writing about recent historical events, and looks at the contemporary parallels as increasing industrial action is threatened over government cuts.
Made in Dagenham is on general release from 1 October.
RONIT AVNI
Ronit Avni’s new film, Budrus, tells the story of one town’s peaceful protest against Israel’s Separation Barrier. The construction of the security fence, built to protect Israelis, would have meant the loss of hundreds of acres of land and the destruction of thousands of olive trees. Budrus follows Ayed Morrar and his 15-year-old daughter as they work to unite feuding political factions in Palestine, and galvanise Israeli activists to join their protest. Avni’s film pieces together footage of the more than fifty demonstrations, with interviews with those involved, to bring to life one of the first organised movements to use civil disobedience to challenge the route of the barrier.
Budrus is on at selected cinemas.
Broadcasts
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Mon 27 Sep 201009:00
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Mon 27 Sep 201021:30
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