John is joined by ethicist, theologian and author Professor Nigel Biggar for a conversation about his latest book, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning. Through rigorous historical and ethical analysis, Biggar presents a strong case for why the ubiquitous anti-colonial narrative has little grounding in historical fact. Rather, Biggar argues, a survey of the actions of the British Empire in particular reveals it to be a strong force against slavery, racism, and the long list of other sins that are often attributed to it.
Nigel John Biggar CBE is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, author, Anglican priest, and theologian. He also directs the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life at Oxford which aims to foster a conversation between Christian theology and other disciplines.
In 2017, Biggar initiated the Oxford project “Ethics and Empire” which aimed to scrutinise a purely negative view of empires and argue that they were morally mixed. Some progressive historians and academics voraciously criticised the project for 'attempting to balance out the violence committed in the name of empire with its supposed benefits.'
#colonialism #empire #debate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00:00 Introduction
00:39 Introducing Nigel Biggar
01:01 Why write a book about colonialism?
04:44 Trouble with the publisher
07:51 The man from Myanmar who preferred British rule
09:01 What is colonialism?
11:06 The many motives behind colonialism
14:20 How an understanding of sin tempers judgment
16:48 What the British Empire got wrong
18:11 To what extent was colonialism motivated by racism?
22:30 Christianity's influence on anti-racism
23:32 Why do we keep calling native disposession genocide?
26:48 Many of the wrongs were the action of individuals, not the state
29:30 The British Empire in India
32:10 How responsible is colonialism for post-colonial dysfunction?
35:16 Some false assumptions about Christianity and colonialism
39:28 How does the British empire compare to other colonial powers?
43:25 How violent was the British Empire?
51:19 Our response to modern slavery compared with the British Empire's
53:19 Advice for getting educated on colonialism
57:01 The two sides to colonial slavery
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conversations feature John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, interviewing the world's foremost thought leaders about today's pressing social, cultural and political issues.
John believes proper, robust dialogue is necessary if we are to maintain our social strength and cohesion. As he puts it; "You cannot get good public policy out of a bad public debate."
If you value this discussion and want to see more like it, make sure you subscribe to the channel here: [ Ссылка ]
And stay right up to date with all the conversations by subscribing to the newsletter here: [ Ссылка ]
Follow John on Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Follow John on Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Support the channel: [ Ссылка ]
Website: [ Ссылка ]
Podcast: [ Ссылка ]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nigel Biggar
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
