Philosophy Salon: What Do Politicians Owe Us?

Join philosopher Julian Baggini, MP and biographer of Burke Jesse Norman and Thangam Debbonaire for a deep dive into the nature of democracy in which you, the audience, will also have a say.

250 years ago this month, Edmund Burke delivered a speech to the electors of Bristol telling them “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.” In other words, as their MP, his job was to decide what was in the citizen’s best interests, not necessarily to do what they wanted. Is this an ideal of democracy that is out of date or more urgent than ever? What do our politicians owe us in 2024?