Is corruption always to the detriment of a state? Is it ever necessary for quantum leaps in societal progress? Are there any countries in the developed world who have benefited from periods of corruption to become what they are? If you have corruption in your government and it leads to growth, at what stage do you start seeing diminishing returns? Would the Western world be what it is without corruption? Brought to you by The Gas Company.

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Tami and Scott give an introduction to the series. They discuss why Progress SA cares about academic freedom and why it took up the fight against academic authoritarianism at the University of Cape Town. They also discuss the state of academic freedom — worldwide and across South Africa — as context for the interviews that are to follow in the rest of the series. This series is brought to you with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.

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Dr Max Price, past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, has an opportunity to respond to criticism levelled at him by other guests interviewed in the series. Scott asks him about UCT’s legacy of academic freedom, and whether that legacy is now under threat. Price offers a different understanding of the concept of academic freedom to the one employed by other guests in the series. This series is brought to you with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.

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