Why the Battle of Ideas festival?

Shaping the future through public debate.

From the cost-of-living crisis to the war in Ukraine, and from culture wars to institutions in meltdown, this has been a year of enormous challenges. The death of Queen Elizabeth II marks both the end of an era and of an important connection with the past. In just a few days in September, we had both a new prime minister and a new king.

Yet our political leaders – only recently in some turmoil themselves – don’t seem up to the task, and many people feel like their voices aren’t being heard. We need to get beyond lurching from one emergency to another and start moving society forward. We must understand how we got here, with an eye to shaping a better future.

The aim of the Battle of Ideas festival and events is to provide an opportunity to debate the issues in a full and frank manner, bringing together a wide variety of voices and, most importantly, creating a space for everyone to have their say.

THE STATE WE’RE IN

Rising inflation, falling living standards and eye-watering bills are front and centre of most people’s minds. And after the pandemic, the already-weak institutions of government seem incapable of rising to these challenges. If the failure to prepare for Covid was bad enough, the absence of any meaningful planning on a wide variety of issues – from energy to healthcare, housing to infrastructure – has truly been exposed. We seem to find ourselves in a state of permanent crises – from not being able to get a GP appointment to civil servants revolting against their ministers.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown into question our previously held assumptions about international relations and shaking up the world order. There is a general feeling of instability, with uprisings in Iran – where women are burning their head scarves in protest against the morality police – and shock election results in both Italy and Sweden. When the Cold War ended, we were told we were at the End of History, that there was no more need for big ideas. There was no alternative to the world envisaged by globalist thinkers: a free market, managed by technocratic experts moving the whole world towards some form of liberal democracy. Recent events have challenged such complacency.

Yet what so often dominates in public life is another kind of battle: the Culture Wars. We seem riven by disputes about gender, race and more. The arts is in turmoil, with comedians like Jerry Sadowitz pulled from the stage for giving offence and literary greats like Shakespeare questioned on their political correctness. Classrooms have become sites for toxic clashes over the teaching of white privilege and gender ideology, while engaging in similar debates online means risking having your social-media account closed down. Are these ‘identity politics’ disputes merely an unfortunate sideshow, as some argue, or do they strike at the heart of how society works today?

FREE THINKERS WELCOME

Throughout the festival’s history, we have always defended the need for a full and frank discussion of the problems facing society. Our motto is ‘FREE SPEECH ALLOWED’. We live in a time when censorship seems more prevalent than the days of shushing priests and damning judges, and yet things have changed. Contemporary attacks on free expression often come both from the state and from within a wide variety of institutions, from colleges to companies, museums to the media. On the one hand, censorship can take the form of legal overreach – from calls to beef up the Online Safety Bill to questions about how to deal with misinformation. On the other hand, censorship can be subtle, and is often quietly self-inflicted for fear of ostracisation.

The pressures on free speech will be a major theme at this year’s festival, with speakers asking questions about whether cries of You Can’t Say That have affected political progress relating to anti-racism, climate change, economic growth and even the world of arts and culture.

We aim to make all our events an antidote to intellectual silos and closed-off echo chambers. The Battle of Ideas festival is an intellectual journey, with many different routes to take through it. With scores of debates and hundreds of speakers, there will be much to enjoy for everyone on an enormous range of issues.

The Battle of Ideas festival is serious, fun, inspiring and much more. But don’t take it from us – what makes it unique is that it is not simply about listening to academics and commentators telling you what they think. For us, the audience IS the festival, and we actively encourage you to have your say, to challenge other people’s ideas and be challenged yourself.

If you’re sick of shouting at the telly, and a weekend of civil but passionate debate in-the-flesh sounds up your street, don’t hesitate: grab your ticket for 15 & 16 October in London, 5 November in Buxton or look out for our events across the UK and Europe and get stuck into the debate. Let Battle commence.

Alastair Donald and Ella Whelan
co-convenors, Battle of Ideas festival