The RSA presents a new series of public debates addressing the global financial crisis and assessing the implications for the economy, for society, for politics and for values. Over three topical debates, we will bring together leading commentators to debate what kind of economy and society will and should emerge from the financial storm and the onset of a period of prolonged economic difficulty. 

In this first debate, we will be considering whether we find ourselves at a genuinely new moment in economic theory and practice, and asking whether, as the Chancellor himself has suggested, it is time to reclaim Keynes? 

J.M. Keynes has been the economist most frequently invoked in recent weeks of economic soul-searching. Our panel of experts will assess his reputation, consider whether we have properly understood/implemented Keynesian principles in the past, and ask: would Keynes have seen the present crisis coming, and what would he have done? 

Speakers: Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, University of Warwick, politician and prize-winning biographer of JM Keynes; Martin Wolf, Associate Editor, Financial Times; Dr Andrew Lillico, Managing Director, Europe Economics