The fairness and responsibility series

Over the next few weeks we will be running a number of blogs following on from talks at the AHRC Fairness and Responsibility in an Unequal Society Conference, which took place on the 28th June 2012 at the University of London.

The conference marked the end of a four-year project on inequality, responsibility and fairness, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council at the University of Exeter. Debates were held across four panels composed of prominent policy-leaders and academics, in a forum for the exchange of ideas between policy and academy.

The panels covered a number of topics, from ‘The Fair Society’ and ‘Responsibility and Fairness in Taxation and Public Services’ to ‘Economic and Social Inequality in Britain’ and ‘Risk and Inequality in International Development’. Speakers came from all areas of the academic, political and research world.

Framed around the debates circling the financial crisis the conference looked to explore what the notions of fairness and responsibility really mean and how they can be applied to the social issues that we currently face. They also discussed the increase in social and economic inequality, which types of inequality ought be of primary concern, and what can be done done to solve such issues.

The conference aimed to discover how the recent emphasis on fairness and responsibility fits in with the aim of reducing inequality and whether such notions help to reduce inequality, or detract from such efforts. And to look at what role notions such a fairness and responsibility play in international efforts to reduce poverty and encourage development.