Analysis Folgen

As China changes leadership, Mukul Devichand probes Beijing's hidden battle of ideas. Unlike the messy democracy of elections in the US or Europe, the Communist Party's "changing of the guard" this autumn is set to be a sombre, orderly and very Chinese affair. But the dramatic sacking of a top Party boss over the alleged murder of an Englishman earlier this year was about more than just a personal power struggle. These events provide a window into a deeper, more ideological battle for the future of the world's new superpower.This week, Mukul Devichand travels to the People's Republic of China for a unique look at the social and ideological faultlines in the country. Radio 4's Analysis programme has a 40-year history of looking at the deeper ideas and trends shaping politics -- and this week's programme takes that approach on the road to a rising superpower whose policy debates are largely misunderstood in the West, despite the profound implications of China's future direction for our own.Recent years have seen large-scale social experiments in China and the emergence of a "New Left" school of thought to rival the pro-market "New Right" in Chinese intellectual life. Mukul Devichand looks at what these scholars and officials are reading, and the ideas that shape their vision of the world. He looks at how these schools of ideas have created their own showcase provinces and cities -- Chongqing vs Guangdong -- and looks at recent events for clues about where China will go next.Contributors:Mark Leonard Director, European Council on Foreign Relations Author, What Does China Think?John Garnaut China correspondent, Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne AgeZhang Jian Professor of Political Science, Peking UniversityDaniel Bell Professor of Political Theory, Tsinghua University and Jiaotong UniversityPan Wei Director, Center for Chinese & Global Affairs. Peking UniversityProducer: Lucy Proctor.

As banks collapse and governments run out of money, the popular solution is to print more and more and expand bank balance sheets. But is there another way of fixing our economy? Would the financial system be more stable if each pound in our pocket was backed by gold? The Today programme's business presenter Simon Jack meets the so-called 'gold bugs' who predict the collapse of the paper system as well as those who argue that a return to the gold standard would be a huge mistake. Which makes more sense - placing your faith in a yellow metal or in money created at the push of a button?Interviewees include ... Detlev Schichter: fellow at the free market think tank the Cobden Centre and author of the book Paper Money Collapse: The Folly of Elastic Money and the Coming Monetary BreakdownJohn Butler: Chief investment officer at Amphora (an independent investment and advisory firm in London) and author of The Golden Revolution: How to prepare for the coming global gold standardLord Skidelsky: Cross-bench peer, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick and biographer of the economist John Maynard KeynesDani Rodrik: Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and author of The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the future of the World Economy Barry Eichengreen: Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Exorbitant Privilege - The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary SystemDr DeAnne Julius: chairman of Chatham House and former member of the Bank of England's monetary committee Lord Lawson: Conservative former Chancellor of the Exchequer Producer: Helen Grady.

As the crisis in the Eurozone continues, Chris Bowlby examines what might eventually emerge and what that could mean for us. When Analysis looked at the possibility of a Greek exit from the Euro back in February, the topic was regarded as "thinking the unthinkable". Not so now. In this programme Chris Bowlby looks forward and asks if the Eurozone is headed for disintegration or, conversely, even closer political and economic union. What do either of those scenarios mean in practice and can the Eurozone survive? What are the implications for borders, cash movements and who controls the levers of power? Interviewees include: Lord Peter Mandelson, David Marsh, Ulrike Guerot, Dani Rodrik, Paul Donovan, Brian Lucey and Aristotle Kallis. Producer: John Murphy.