Postponed EVENTS

Postponed from: Monday 16th March 2020: Cafe Diplo: Homelessness, its Social and Economic Cause and Effects:  Despite increased policy attention, and the implementation of strategies to halt it, homelessness is on the rise in most European states and remains at stubbornly high levels across developed nations. Its adverse effects on mental and physical health, crime levels, substance abuse, and general wellbeing are profound, and it is urgently necessary to devise means that will bring it to an end. Professor Nicholas Pleace is a globally recognised authority on homelessness, he is Director of the Centre for Housing Policy, the University of York Research Champion for Justice and Equality and holds a Chair in Social Policy at York. His work centres on comparative research, particularly across Europe and the Anglophone countries, and on transdisciplinary research that encompasses inequalities in health, life chances/opportunity and area effects in urban space with a particular focus on housing precarity and homelessness. He has led research for numerous international governmental and non-governmental organisations, and is a member of the European Observatory on homelessness, and of the Women’s Homelessness in Europe Network.  He is also on the Editorial Boards of the European Journal of Homelessness and the International Journal of Housing Policy, and has written very widely on the subject of homelessness, one of his most recent publications being Ending Homelessness? The Contrasting Experiences of Ireland, Denmark and Finland (2020). Guardian article.  Venue: 6.45-8.30pm: at the Gallery, 70/77 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ. Admission free, suggested donation £3 (£2 concession) at the door: organised by Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique – Full details: www.mondediplofriends.org.uk

Postponed from:  Wednesday 18th March from 7.30pm – 9.30pm:  Positive Money Hammersmith: Steering the Economy – A Tax Proposal.  This presentation is about the Western financial system and one specific proposal that sounds small but could have a very large effect. It addresses a critical fundamental defect in current bank lending. It would also be much easier to implement than various proposals that address symptoms rather than fundamentals. For these reasons it should be part of any package of government reform of banking regulations. Economists can see that there is something wrong with the Western economy. Wealth inequality grows ever larger, and the level of debt throughout society, although temporarily reduced after the financial crash ten years ago, has continued to climb to highly undesirable levels. As well as measures to control specific abuses, change of some kind that addresses fundamentals is essential. Our speaker is Don Beal, a Positive Money group organiser and a retired mathematician/ scientist now campaigning for monetary reform. We are a friendly group with a number of regulars who always look forward to welcoming new joiners to the debate. Venue: Grove Neighbourhood Centre, 7 Bradmore Park Road, Hammersmith, W6 0DT:  Cost: £5 towards the venue charge.  We hope to see you there!

Postponed from: Thursday 19th March 2020 – 7.30pm: Positive Money Greenwich, in the upper room of the Prince Public House, 72 Royal Hill, Greenwich, SE10 8RT. Our topic will be: Defining Money. You have would thought that by now we would have an agreed definition of what constitutes “money”. But the definitions on offer tend to specify its functions, what it does, rather than what it is. We need something more rigorous if we are to get agreement on how we should design and create a new and improved money system for the future. The central position of the commercial banks in the current production of most of our money was only formally acknowledged by the Bank of England in 2014, and there is still lively discussion about the theory of money among economists. Do, for example, the shadow banks also create money from a debt flow , is a Bitcoin actually money,  should central banks create their own digital currencies? Tonight, we will be discussing  what can be called the “Cambridge view” of the constitution and nature of money, which depends on what they describe as social positioning. This extends MMT, and perhaps edges us towards greater clarity of the overall nature of money. This is an important, challenging and stimulating topic, and we hope you will join us in the discussion. What is your definition of money ? We hope to see you there, Mike and Tim.

Postponed from: Saturday 28th March 2020: Rethinking Economics 2020: Salvage the Future: Student organised conference at PEGFA (The Institute of Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability): The future is uncertain. From ecological breakdown to precarious work, many people feel that business as usual is leading us towards a dead end. However, despite all the pessimism and fear, young people across the globe are demanding change – on the streets and in the classroom. While dissenting students in economics have raised an unlimited number of questions about the future, answers from the mainstream remain scarce. Is our economics education fit to meet the challenges of the coming decade? What economic issues are behind this sense of decline? And do we need systemic change to salvage the future? Rethinking Economics Greenwich (REG) is a student society associated with Rethinking Economics, an international network of students, academics and professionals building a better economics in society and the classroom. As a movement of predominantly young students, the questions raised above are not simply academic but existential.Keynote speaker: Robert Skidelsky, member of the British House of Lords and Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Warwick University • Grace Blakeley, staff writer at Tribune magazine and the author of Stolen: How to save the world from financialisation • Callum Cant, author of “Working for Deliveroo” and a PhD student at the University of West London • Yannis Dafermos, Lecturer in Economics at SOAS University of London • Daniela Gabor, Associate Professor in Economics at the University of the West of England, Bristol • Alex Guschanski, Lecturer in Economics at the University of Greenwich • Rob Calvert Jump, research fellow at the University of Greenwich • Maria Nikolaidi, Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Greenwich • Mara Nogueira, LSE Fellow in Human Geography • Ã–zlem Onaran, Professor of Economics at the University of Greenwich • Keston Perry, Political Economist with an expertise in climate policy in the Caribbean and Latin America at the University of West England • Hector Pollitt, Director and the Head of Modelling at Cambridge Econometrics • Tomas Rotta, Lecturer in Economics at Goldsmiths, University of London • Nick Srnicek, lecturer in Digital Economy at King’s College London and author “Platform Capitalism“, “Inventing the Future” and forthcoming new book After Work: What’s Left and Who Cares? • Julia Steinberger, Professor of Ecological Economics at the University of Leeds • Sara Stevano, Feminist Political Economist and Lecturer in Economics at SOAS, University of London • Ben Tippet, author of “Split: Class Divides Uncovered” and PhD student at the University of Greenwich • Vera Weghmann, Research Fellow for PSIRU and co-founder of United Voices of the World Union • Rafael Wildauer, Lecturer in Economics at the University of Greenwich • Yuliya Yurchenko, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at the University of Greenwich:  Plus more to be confirmed soon…the Event is FREE, but please BOOK IN ADVANCE

Postponed from: ** Wednesday 8th April 2020: The Great Dunmow Society of Cogers will be holding its second Wednesday of the month meeting, from 7.30pm, in its regular venue The Maltings, Mill Lane, Great Dunmow, Essex CM6 1BG. If you have any questions, please call 01371 879870. All are most welcome and will be able to speak: www.cogers.org

Postponed from: ** Monday 13th April 2020: The City of London Society of Cogers, on the second Monday of the month, 7pm-9.15pm, at the Ye Olde Cock Tavern, 22 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1AA. All are most welcome to attend and to speak: www.cogers.org

Postponed from: ** Tuesday 21st April 2020: Ware Society of Cogers be holding its third Tuesday meeting, from 8pm, in its regular venue – The Brewery Tap, 83 High St, Ware SG12 9AD – a 5-7 minute walk from Ware train station. All are most welcome and will be able to speak: www.cogers.org

Postponed from: ** Wednesday 22nd April 2020: The City of Westminster Cogers will continue to hold its meeting, as always, on the fourth Wednesday of the month, from 7-9.15pm, upstairs in The Plumber’s Arms pub, 14 Lower Belgrave Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 0LN, about 200 yards from Victoria Station. All are most welcome to come along and to speak: www.cogers.org