Guest
Science, reason and democracy. The Age of Enlightenment began three hundred years ago. It brought greater freedom and progress and paved the way for modern thought. Today, in the 21st century, does the Enlightenment still matter? A journey around the world that takes us to the past, present and future. How is it shaped by the Enlightenment and its ideas about equality, responsibility, freedom and reason? What does a just world look like today, in the 21st century? Writer and political scientist Emilia Roig takes a trip around the world and through her own family history, taking in Berlin, Paris and Martinique, as she explores the life and times of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, who served as third president of the United States. Strongly influenced by Enlightenment thinking, he was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, which stated that “all men are created equal.” Yet he also owned hundreds of slaves. Why did he fail to put his ideals into practice? What answers do the heirs to Enlightenment thinking have to the world’s problems today — from global inequality to structural racism and the consequences of colonialism? Emilia Roig’s journey takes her to Martinique, a French island in the Caribbean, where society is deeply polarized. She speaks to poet Mapie and musician and activist Noss about neocolonialism, violence and rebellion. And in northern France she visits her grandfather Jean-Pierre Roig, who spent years in Africa, and only saw the continent from the perspective of a colonial ruler. What does he think of the current debate about the legacy of that era? In Berlin, Emilia meets up with US-Canadian psychologist Steven Pinker. He believes that the world has been improving steadily since the 18th century: there’s less poverty, hunger and violence. But is this really true? Statistically speaking, it only applies to a small percentage of the world population.
