Monday, 8th October 2007

Listen live, tomorrow at 6:45pm

3:56pm

Tomorrow night from 6:45 pm, we’ll be broadcasting via this site a debate on the motion, “We should not be reluctant to assert the superiority of Western values.”

There is an all star cast of speakers involved. David Aaronovitch, Douglas Murray and Ibn Warraq are speaking for the motion while Tariq Ramadan, William Dalrymple and Charles Glass are opposing it. Click here to read a piece that Douglas has written for us setting out his position.

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john landaw

October 9th, 2007 7:00pm Report this comment

having gone to the site there was nothing to click to hear the debate live

James Forsyth

October 9th, 2007 7:08pm Report this comment

John, You want to click on the red listen live now button on the homepage or on www.spectator.co.uk/intelligence. It's well worth tuning in too--if you have any more problems email me and I'll send you the direct link. James

Jack Fulcher

October 9th, 2007 11:55pm Report this comment

I have a question. Is this debate available as a podcast anywhere? I started to listen to it, but work got in the way. Or is a transcript being prepared? Thanks, Jack Fulcher

Sophie

October 10th, 2007 10:05am Report this comment

Fantastic debate. One of the best I've seen at IQ2. Feisty speakers. Only shame was that the opposition failed to define their interpretation of the motion. Left them struggling for solid ground when left with good arguments from those proposing it. My two questions to the opposition that I didn't get the chance to ask were. What would Tariq Ramadan suggest if discourse fails? What would the oppostions position have been if the motion had been about "universal values"?

John Landaw

October 10th, 2007 10:53am Report this comment

James, Many thanks. I did manage to hear the debate. What amazed me was the poor qualities of the opposition, whose entire contribution can be summed up with one word: 'bombast.' Dalyrymple was the most egregious example of this. Going on about some ancient character called Akbar, as this had anything to do with the motion. And as for Glass, hoping that when China becomes the dominant economical force it will treat the world better than the the Americans in Vietnam etc, perhaps he should ask the Tibetans what they feel. Ramadan hardly spoke a word of sense, and was a prevaricator and obfuscator on a grand scale. The result of the debate was inevitable.