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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Abundance and Scarcity

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Abundance and Scarcity
The contrast in wealth distribution between key regions and countries around the world is as stark as ever. In this commentary, using analysis in the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook, we look at the convergence we need to achieve in order to help encourage a more egalitarian form of global capitalism. The music accompanying this episode is The Nexus Riddim by Konrad OldMoney
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Government must learn how to be a catalyst

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Government must learn how to be a catalyst
The Bank of England expects the price inflation peak to be high, but short-lived: however if it feeds into wage inflation it could seriously undermine both national debt servicing and the property market: that's why the Government appears to be adopting a tight fiscal stance and announcing a large reduction in the civil service. Carefully targeted support with the swiftly rising cost of living is urgently needed for those most in need and, if the Government can't or won't respond, it could be enabled through the voluntary sector: with Government acting as catalyst. However this is a role to which they're not currently accustomed. Background music: 'Everything has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins.
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Inflation Drivers

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Inflation Drivers
The range of major drivers which will steer inflation over the years ahead is wide and diverse, but their duration must be considered as well as their positive or negative impact on rates. For example, the drivers most affected by Putin's war in Ukraine are energy shortages and supply chain disruption, and the threat of de-globalisation in future. These all contribute to higher inflation but it is only a more cautionary approach leading towards de-globalisation which will persist. Meanwhile technology, demographics and a swifter transition to low cost alternative energy will all bear down on price rises. In this commentary we take a look at nine major influences on future rates of inflation, and conclude that central bankers are right to be cautious about chasing after inflation with their interest rate policy.
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Is mass charisma the Achilles heel of humanity?

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Is mass charisma the Achilles heel of humanity?
The sight of Putin seeking to rally his 'supporters' at Moscow’s Luzhynik Stadium is nothing new: the use of mass charisma as a tool for controlling people goes back millennia, and remains a major challenge for those who believe in individual liberty. This week we look at how the technique, recognised by German sociologist and political economist Max Weber as one of three tools of political domination, is used to inject a subconscious herd mentality into humanity and how, at a personal level, it can be controlled. Accompanying music is 'Russian Dance' by Joey Pecoraro
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Looking Forwards

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Looking Forwards
'Consult not your fears, but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.' - Pope John XXIII The old saying ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’ (George Santayana) has its place, but only to the extent that it helps us to move to a better future. It is a feature of our material existence that time marches forward at a constant pace — we cannot revisit the past, for better or for worse: so why dwell in it? At a time when there is a perfect storm of convergent problems, it's worth looking beyond our present experiences and seeing how we can make the world a better place. Background music: 'Communicator' by Reed Matthis
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Misrepresenting Christianity

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Misrepresenting Christianity
How can Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church justify his support for Putin's murderous assault as in keeping with Christian teaching? Former Church of England Archbishop Rowan Williams, whose long affinity with the Orthodox Church brings a deep awareness of its history, is right to call for Russian Orthodox expulsion from the World Council of Churches. In this week before Easter we need to re-visit basic Christian teaching on respect for others, however different they may be to ourselves. As our quote from author D.B. Harrop says: 'Have a big enough heart to love unconditionally, and a broad enough mind to embrace the differences that make each of us unique'.
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: The need to re-discover Conservative values

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: The need to re-discover Conservative values
Will Johnny go marching home, after this awful set of mid-term elections for the Conservatives? He has the intelligence needed to steer this country forward, as he's shown with both Brexit and the Covid-19 vaccine strategy. However, he has a major handicap: he not only lacks a firm foundation in Conservative values, but he's also prone to falling foul of the cult of personality. As he can't seem to get to grips with this handicap, the Conservative Parliamentary Party should take steps to build a new leadership to move it forwards, closely aligned to its core values. Background music: 'Johnny comes marching home' by Cooper Cannell
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Needed - A Strategy for Sharing

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Needed - A Strategy for Sharing
There's no question over Rishi Sunak's commitment to a strategy to encourage people to work; however, faced with a major cost of living crisis for those on the breadline,there's a real need to complement it with a strategy for sharing. If HM Treasury is not inclined to assist, it should at least set out a plan to encourage those who will. Accompanying music - Bike Sharing to Paradise, by Dan Bodan
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Realising Individual Potential

Gavin Oldham
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Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Realising Individual Potential
Helping young people to achieve their potential as an individual is a key objective for those who believe in a more egalitarian form of capitalism. So in this episode, we focus on some initiatives which will help us move in that direction in the years ahead. Included in this programme is an excerpt from the epilogue of Antoine de Sainte Exupery's 'Wind, Sand and Stars'. Background music is 'Solar Power', by Ashley Shadow.
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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Young People Search for Meaning

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Young People Search for Meaning
The Theos Think Tank has demonstrated that the ‘angry hostility towards religion engineered by the new atheist movement is over' in their report ‘Science and Religion: moving away from the shallow end’. This shows how young people are increasingly open to exploring the meaning of life, and prepared to explore the bridge between science and faith. This commentary brings out some of the key points emerging from their work and provides insights from economics and the book of Ecclesiastes in order to argue that the best way to tackle these dilemmas is through the application of logic. The background music is the track 'Resolution' by Wayne Jones. There are a wide range of links from the webpage version of the commentary, which can be accessed at https://www.shareradio.co.uk/thinkingaloud/newsletters/comment-wc-2022-05-03/
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