Free Thinking

Homepage Accessibility links Skip to content Accessibility Help BBC Accountrequire(["idcta/statusbar"],function(a){new a.Statusbar({id:"idcta-statusbar",publiclyCacheable:!0})}),document.querySelector(".idcta-wrapper").classList.remove("no-js") Notifications Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Bitesize CBeebies CBBC Food Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live More menu Search BBC Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Bitesize CBeebies CBBC Food Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live Close menu BBC Radio 4 Free Thinking HomeEpisodesClipsGalleriesPodcastPresentersContactNight Waves archive define("branding-responsive-nav",[],function(){var e=function(e){this.setOptions(e)};return e.prototype={options:{},setOptions:function(e){var t={more_link_text:e&&e.more_link_text?e.more_link_text:"More"};this.options=t},getOptions:function(){return this.options},init:function(){function e(){var e=t.getWindowWidth(),n=t.getWindowHeight();(e!=i||n!=o)&&null!==t.local_nav_bar&&(t.processingNavigation=!1,t.processNavigation()),i=e,o=n}var t=this,n=null,i=this.getWindowWidth(),o=this.getWindowHeight();t.setupNavigation(),this.addListener(window,"resize",function(){clearTimeout(n),n=setTimeout(e,300)})},getWindowWidth:function(){var e=0;return"number"==typeof window.innerWidth?e=window.innerWidth:document.documentElement&&document.documentElement.clientWidth?e=document.documentElement.clientWidth:document.body&&document.body.clientWidth&&(e=document.body.clientWidth),e},getWindowHeight:function(){var e=0;return"number"==typeof window.innerHeight?e=window.innerHeight:document.documentElement&&document.documentElement.clientHeight?e=document.documentElement.clientHeight:document.body&&document.body.clientHeight&&(e=document.body.clientHeight),e},addListener:function(e,t,n){e.addEventListener?e.addEventListener(t,n,!1):e.attachEvent?e.attachEvent("on"+t,n):e["on"+t]=n},setupNavigation:function(){if(this.local_nav_bar=document.getElementById("br-nav-programme"),null!==this.local_nav_bar){var e=document.createElement("button");e.className="br-nav__morelink br-box-highlight";var t=document.createTextNode(this.getOptions().more_link_text);e.appendChild(t),e.id="more-link",this.local_nav_bar.insertBefore(e,this.local_nav_bar.firstChild);var n=document.createElement("ul");n.id="more-list",n.className="br-nav__more br-nav__list",this.local_nav_bar.appendChild(n),this.addListener(e,"click",function(){-1!==e.className.indexOf("open")?(e.className=e.className.replace("open",""),n.className=n.className.replace("open","")):(e.className+=" open",n.className+=" open")}),t=null,this.processNavigation()}},processingNavigation:!1,processNavigation:function(){if(null!==this.local_nav_bar){var e=document.getElementById("more-link"),t=this.local_nav_bar.getElementsByTagName("ul");t=t[0];var n=t.getElementsByTagName("li"),i=n[0];this.processingNavigation=!0;var o=document.getElementById("more-list");if(null!==o)for(;o.hasChildNodes();)t.appendChild(o.firstChild);if(!this._navIsTooLong(t,i))return e.className=e.className.replace("visible",""),void(e=t=n=i=o=null);for(e.className=e.className.replace("visible",""),e.className+=" visible";this._navIsTooLong(t,i)&&this.processingNavigation;)this._moveLastNavItem();e=t=n=i=o=null}},_moveLastNavItem:function(){var e=this.local_nav_bar.getElementsByTagName("ul")[0],t=document.getElementById("more-list");t.insertBefore(e.lastChild,t.firstChild),e=nav_items=last_item=t=null},_navIsTooLong:function(e,t){var n=e.getElementsByTagName("li"),i=n.length>1&&e.offsetHeight>t.scrollHeight;return n=null,i}},e}); /**/ Main content This episode will be available soon Wealth Free Thinking On the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, Anne McElvoy and guests discuss the legacy of this influential text and the distribution of wealth. Anne McElvoy and guests discuss the concentration, distribution and morality of wealth now and look back at An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published by the Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith in 1776, which gives an early account of what builds nations' wealth and introduced concepts such as free markets, the division of labour, and productivity. Our guests for this episode of BBC Radio 4's Friday night ideas discussion programme are: Vicky Pryce, economist and business consultant and co-author of Mismanaged Decline What Politicians Won’t Tell You About the Economy Maha Rafi Atal, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at the University of Glasgow and author of the forthcoming book When Companies Rule: Corporate Power from the East India Company to Silicon Valley. The University is holding a series of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the publication of The Wealth of Nations. Dafydd Daniel, Lecturer in Divinity at the University of St Andrews Allister Heath, business journalist Hettie O'Brien, Guardian writer and author of The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself You can hear another discussion about searching for economic solutions in the most recent episode of Start the Week, Radio 4's Monday morning discussion programme where Tom Sutcliffe was joined by Mariana Mazzucato, Jeremy Hunt and Patrick Foulis. See all episodes from Free Thinking You can download all the past episodes of Radio 3's Free Thinking Angry politics, what we can’t say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV Angry politics, what we can’t say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV We examine the fast-changing relationship between the individual & the crowd Free Thinking Festival 2017: The Speed of Life The ideas shaping our lives today - with artists and thinkers in debates and interviews.