"Education and equality": A Public Lecture by Professor Jim Flynn

Alliance Party MEDIA RELEASE for immediate release Monday 26 June 2006

Professor Jim Flynn of the University of Otago will present a public lecture "Education and Equality" on Wednesday 12 July 2006, at St David Street Lecture Theatre 1, University of Otago, starting at 7pm.

The lecture will consider how free education, funded through progressive taxation, is vital part of a democratic society.

Professor Flynn says the move away from the idea of equality is causing profound damage to the foundations of democracy.

"Throughout the twentieth century, great progress was made towards equality of access to education for all people, but in recent decades this positive trend has been reversed and we are moving towards a society divided on the basis of wealth."

Author of five books, Professor Flynn has combined political and moral philosophy with psychology to clarify problems such as justifying humane ideals, and whether it makes sense to rank races and classes by merit.

Professor Flynn has been profiled in Scientific American, and has stood for the New Zealand Parliament several times as a candidate of the Alliance Party. He is currently the Alliance finance and tax spokesperson.

His research interests include humane ideals and ideological debate; classics of political philosophy; and race, class and IQ.

The public lecture is presented by the Alliance Party.

For further information please contact:

Professor Jim Flynn email jim.flynn@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

ENDS

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