Abstract
In his book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty calls for the discipline of economics to be more humble, more engaged with citizens, and more connected to other disciplines. In the spirit of Piketty’s rallying cry, and in line with some of the Treasury’s recent work (such as the Living Standards Framework), this talk presents novel ideas from four different disciplines that may be of value to the Treasury’s current and future work. The talk explores multidimensional poverty in development studies, democratic experimentalism in law, fairness in New Zealand history, and new currents of thinking on the capabilities approach in political philosophy. It points to the attractions and weaknesses of each concept, with the aim of suggesting – through a discussion, rather than a lecture – how some of these ideas might chime with the New Zealand context and the Treasury’s work.
About Max Harris
Max Harris is currently an Examination Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. His undergraduate degree was in law, politics, and history at the University of Auckland. He then worked as a clerk to Chief Justice Elias at the New Zealand Supreme Court before taking up a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford, where he has completed master’s degrees in law and public policy. Alongside his studies, he has completed short stints of work with the Department of Premier and Cabinet in South Australia, the American Civil Liberties Union in New York, and Helen Clark’s Executive Office at the United Nations Development Programme.
Note: Papers, presentation slides and any other material provided by the Guest Lecturer will be made available some time after the lecture at Publications > Media & Speeches > Guest Lectures by Visiting Academics.