The Reasons I Choose To Study Philosophy, Politics And Economics (PPE) Course

In July 2018 I interned at the Elysee in President Macron’s speechwriting office, witnessing the meticulous research and data analysis over different disciplines required to craft a major policy speech. It illustrated how addressing complex societal problems requires broad interdisciplinary knowledge. Looking forwards, combining philosophy’s analytical reasoning, expertise in political processes and institutions, along with the quantitative methods of economics in a PPE degree, will develop my ability to rigorously evaluate competing claims about challenges we face and allow me to make a meaningful impact in various domains.

Populism interests me but my readings highlight debate identifying both its roots and definition. A Stanford University reports its “defining characteristic is a claim to represent an ‘organic’ people or nation, rather than specific interests or groups“. Mudde and Kaltwasser note in ‘Populism: A Very Short Introduction’ that it surpasses ideological contexts: Greece’s “Syriza” contrasts with Poland’s “Law and Justice”. This leads to question – is populism explainable by economic factors or a birth in less concrete culture and sociology. The unexpected success of Swedish Democrats (SD) in a tolerant country with a famed welfare system - along with other European populist gains - urges us to dig deeper. The media mostly attributes SD numbers to a “convincing narrative” that Sweden is torn apart by migrants; a more nuanced explanation by Av S. Widman in March 2018 RESPONS proposes, with data, that answers lie further back in history and social structures: immigrants have arrived at a key moment coinciding with increasing failure of the welfare system, “a system once built to support its citizens may appear to have turned against them the new economistic system is a predator. It takes more than it gives back. ” This supports populism as rooted in economics from growing inequality and capitalism’s failures.

Considering a dichotomy between economics or culture, does such separation exist? Culture is changeable, difficult to designate, even within societies; if one believes it represents institutions and norms that govern, then these are inextricably linked with the economic system. I attended Prof. Stiglitz’s Royal Society lecture “You and AI – The Future of Work”; assured robots will replace jobs in most areas, he predicts greatest impact with unskilled jobs. His concern is whether ownership of digital automation will concentrate in a small elite - increasing inequality and unemployment – and whether markets can adjust to structural transformations. His solution is transparent government intervention in the Keynesian tradition. Without this, he fears a “new era of fascism”. Stiglitz thus suggests that wealth, concentrated in the few, may enable political bargaining and under the table quid pro quos to twist the political playing field - concentrated economic power may convert to concentrated political power.

I am a strong mathematician, an asset for the quantitative aspects of Economics. In 2017, I studied Game Theory at Brown, looking at strategically interdependent decisions through the lens of behavioural economics. In April 2018, I interned at strategic communication company Shan which coincided with President Macron’s Congressional speech; I applied “on the job” learning about image and message transmission - the power of language, targeting your audience, and how to critically analyse relations between media and political processes. I am a London-based French citizen keen to have the tools to understand a challenging future pointing to Brexit, new European and US agendas, and climate change, among many things. Macron engaged with some of these big issues from many different perspectives to elaborate his views on policies, how they shape individuals, and the way individuals in return shape them. I want to study PPE to enable my own multi-disciplinary analysis to engage with positive change.