Philosopher Dan Chandler awarded Voltaire Lecture Medal

Humanists UK returned to Conway Hall for the 2024 Voltaire Lecture, given by distinguished economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler, the recipient of the Humanists UK 2024 Voltaire Lecture Medal.

Daniel’s lecture delved into the ideals of a just society, drawing inspiration from the work of the American philosopher John Rawls, while underscoring the pressing need to tackle contemporary challenges facing liberal democracy and escalating inequality.

Daniel argued that the current political climate lacks a unified vision for a better society, often focusing on incremental changes rather than sweeping, transformative reform – with explicit references to Voltaire himself, Enlightenment thinking, and reason and science as engines of progress. He introduced the philosophy of John Rawls as a robust framework for envisioning a fair and equitable society, as outlined in Rawls’s book The Theory of Justice.

John Rawls and The Theory of Justice

Chandler outlined Rawls’s idea of a fair system of social cooperation, which is rooted in the principles of fairness and mutual cooperation. He described Rawls’s thought experiment, the ‘original position’ and ‘veil of ignorance’, which suggests that a just society is one that individuals would choose without knowing their status or position within it. From this premise, Rawls derives two essential principles: the basic liberties principle and the equality principle.

First, the guarantee of basic liberties for all, encompassing personal and political freedoms. Second, the idea of equality, consisting of fair equality of opportunity and the difference principle. The latter, Dan notes, posits that inequalities are only permissible if they advantage everyone, especially the least well-off.

Creating a fairer and more equal society

Daniel proposed that Rawls’s theories offer innovative solutions for revitalising democracy and restructuring capitalism. To enhance democratic systems, he suggested measures such as limiting political donations, increasing public funding for elections, implementing proportional representation in voting, and expanding the role of citizens’ assemblies.

Turning to economics, Daniel advocated for policies such as a universal basic income, ‘pre-distribution’ strategies to combat inequality at its roots, and a shifting of the balance of power within workplaces. He criticised the prevalent ‘shareholder primacy model’ of companies, where owners or shareholders have exclusive control over those enterprises. He argued that this approach was neither natural nor inevitable, and advocated for greater worker involvement and participation in decision-making in business.

Following a lively and wide-ranging Q&A, Andrew Copson awarded Daniel Chandler the prestigious Voltaire Lecture Medal for ‘his clear and captivating prospectus we could all look to when trying to bring about a society, where rational thinking and kindness prevail.‘