You Tube Theology

Professor Michael Northcott, Professor in Ethics, presents "Fair Trade or Free Trade? Competing Moral Economies in a Changing World". In this lecture Professor Michael Northcott explains how the ideas and methods of Adam Smith and other political economists underwrite the global 'free trade' project. He contrasts these with the principles and practices of 'fair trade', and in particular the ethical emphasis in fair trade on transparency in producer-consumer relationships and on traceability in local and global supply chains. We discover that fair trade practices and principles challenge the claim of mainstream economists that their models of free trade are value free, and we will explore the potential of fair trade principles in promoting a new ethical paradigm of a just and sustainable economy. Recorded on 19 November 2013 at the University of Edinburgh's Appleton Tower.