In modern civilization, power and privilege still separate the haves from the have nots. As the gap between the top 1% and the rest widens, we must ask ourselves: what are the mechanisms behind wealth inequality? And why do we tolerate the excesses? As Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s call to “eat the rich” gains traction in Western society, perhaps it is time to imagine a different society.
A Discussion Disguised as a Game
Tonight’s event is a new Studium Generale format. We will involve you, the audience, in a discussion disguised as a role playing game, exploring the dilemmas involved with tackling extreme wealth inequality. Guided by two speakers and a moderator, find out if and how we can “eat the rich” together.
Our speakers today:
Savriël Dillingh is a political philosopher at the Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics (EIPE), Erasmus University Rotterdam, writing a PhD-thesis on the influence social norms have on market processes and market institutions. His research is in political philosophy and business ethics. He thinks and writes about markets, the firm, efficiency, transaction costs, corporate governance and competition, among other things. He is also interested in political anarchism and questions surrounding market socialism.
Femke Herregraven is an artist and researcher who investigates the effects of the financial system on landscapes, ecosystems, historiography, and individual lives. Her work has focused on the financialization of the future as a ‘catastrophe.’ In 2016, she collaborated with Dutch investigative journalists on the Panama Papers. She was shortlisted for the 2019 Prix de Rome, and was awarded the Evens Arts Prize 2023. Her most recent exhibition, Dialect, can be visited at Radius in Delft.
Moderator: Aafke Fraaije, TU Delft postdoc researcher in Art for Climate Solidarity.
Check out SG’s related events this quarter on the theme: Power and Privilege
This quarter is all about wealth, greed, and the roots of inequality. With more billionaires than ever, global crises in the 21st century have enriched the few while billions have been made poorer. Can our society keep sustaining this divide? And if not, where will you stand in the next mass uprising?
Existential Tuesday: How rich is too rich? | Sept 10th | @ The Nook
Existential Tuesday: (When) is privilege a problem? | Sept 17th | @ The Nook
VOX Book Club: Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi | Sept 19th | @The Nook
Existential Tuesday: Who really rules society? | Sept 24th | @ The Nook
Exterminate All the Brutes: Conversations on the Colonial Past | Sept 30th | @ 38CC
Existential Tuesday: How political should a university be? | Oct 1st | @ The Nook
Existential Tuesday: How would you trigger a global revolution? | Oct 8th | @ The Nook
Moral Ambition: How Badly Do You Want to Do Good? | Oct 8th | @ TUD Library
Critical Mass Sessions: Eat the Rich | Oct 14th | @ Theater de Veste
Exterminate All the Brutes: Conversations on the Colonial Past, pt.1 | Oct 21st | @ 38CC
