Free lecture on Capitalism: The Root of all Evil?

free lecture taking place at Ripon Cathedral on Thursday 22 November will address some of the important ethical questions that face us with regard to the use and abuse of money.

The lecture entitled Capitalism: The Root of All Evil? will be delivered by Dr Peter Vardy as part of the St Wilfred Series. In welcoming the next lecturer in the St Wilfred series, the Dean of Ripon commented: "Wealth, its creation and its use, affects us all. Money and the degree to which we have it or do not have it, dictates and shapes the way we live our lives. So, Is Capitalism the root of all evil? How do we address some of the key issues of wealth in the context of a world in which some have plenty and others have nothing? For the final St Wilfred lecture of 2012, I am delighted to welcome Dr Peter Vardy to Ripon Cathedral. His lecture will address some of the important ethical questions that face us with regard to the use and abuse of money and will help us all to address the responsibility that faces us all as individuals and as a society."

Dr Peter Vardy was Vice-Principal of Heythrop College, University of London, for twelve years. Previously he was a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Marketing and Chair or director of a number of listed and unlisted companies as well as being a partner in a firm of Chartered Accountants and management consultants. He ran training courses for senior managers at National Westminster Bank and Swiss Bank Corporation for a number of years and regularly speaks at UNHRC and UNESCO conferences. He is the author of over a dozen books, including The Puzzle of Ethics (1997), What is Truth? (2003) and Being Human (2003).

The annual St Wilfrid lectures, named in honour of Ripon Cathedral’s founder, have been running since 2009. They are jointly organised and sponsored by York St John University, Ripon Cathedral, the Methodist District of York and Hull, and Ripon and Leeds Diocese.  Previous lectures have ranged widely over questions of faith and public life, with high profile speakers including the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, Lord Inderjit Singh, Ruth Gledhill, Baroness Estelle Morris, Professor Terry Eagleton, and Professor Mona Siddiqui.

Dr Peter Vardy’s lecture will take place at 7.00pm on Thursday 22 November at Ripon Cathedral.  Admission is free but by ticket only. To book a ticket email judithbustard@riponcathedral.org.uk or telephone 01765 603462.