Opening conference: “How capitalism undermines freedom”

Registration is compulsory for participants from outside Université Catholique de Lille.

Opening conference of the academic year & autograph signing session

Each year, ESPOL opens its academic year with a major lecture given by an academic figure or expert from the professional world on one of the major themes covered by its courses.

For the opening of the 2026-2027 academic year, the school is delighted to welcome Lea Ypi for a lecture entitled “How capitalism undermines freedom”.

Abstract

A prominent tradition in philosophy maintains that, unlike other animals, humans experience freedom in connection to moral responsibility. On this account, freedom has both an internal and an external component. Internal freedom is the freedom required to think what is right. External freedom is the freedom required to do what is right. I call the freedom that enables us to do what is right, freedom of agency. I use the term agency to distinguish it from choice, which I understand as capacity to select between different options. The argument I explore in this lecture is that capitalism structurally undermines our freedom of agency even as it seems to respect our freedom of choice. 

About the speaker

Lea Ypi is the Ralph Miliband Professor in Politics and Philosophy at the London School of Economics (LSE). A leading political theorist, her work explores freedom, justice, democracy and political thought. She is also the acclaimed author of Free: Coming of Age at the End of History, an internationally celebrated memoir translated into more than thirty-five languages.