“Moral Responsibility and the Republic of Beliefs”
Abstract of the Lecture: We have examples from around the world of dismal group behavior, from behavior that does environmental damage and discriminates against groups, to polarization and war, provoked by political leaders. How do we conceptualize and understand these forces and the power of political leaders, and how do we apportion moral responsibility for such behavior? The lecture will show how it is possible to get a deeper understanding of these age-old questions, going back to the Age of Enlightenment and even earlier, by using ideas from modern game theory, from those of John Nash to Thomas Schelling. The lecture will also speculate about the role of conventions, and how we could use these to build safeguards to ensure responsible collective behavior.
Kaushik Basu is Professor of Economics and the Carl Marks Professor of International Studies at Cornell University.
He is currently President of the International Economic Association, serving a term 2017-2020. He was formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, 2012-16, and, prior to that, Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian Government, 2009-2012.
Please find more information about Prof. Kaushik Baus on his homepage.