For the eleventh year running and in conjunction with The Aspen Institute, the Aspen Seminar on Values and Society was held in Italy.
The seminar is dedicated to commemorating Ennio Presutti, one of the founders of Aspen Institute Italia, who passed away in 2008.
Since 1951, the Aspen Seminar on Values and Society has been the widely-acclaimed flagship program of The Aspen Institute tradition in the United States. Discussions at this latest installment focused on universal values as a resource in the exercise of modern and informed leadership. The initiative brought together Italian and overseas participants, who, through an analysis and discussion of selected readings from classical and contemporary authors, debated the main issues associated with economic and social progress and their relationship with the major challenges of today.
The seminar was conducted in English and focused, in six dedicated sessions, on the following topics: human nature and social relations, inter- and intra-societal differences, social conflicts, the limitations of rules, and models of leadership. The discussion was prompted and guided by moderator Todd Breyfogle, The Aspen Institute’s Director of Seminars.
A debate based on a selection of readings from classical authors, including Aristotle, Plato, Confucius, Machiavelli, Bacon and Rousseau, elicited an exploration of the possible underpinnings for an innovative methodological and conceptual approach. An analysis of writings by contemporary authors, such as Martin Luther King, Václav Havel, Friedrich Hayek and Paul Rusesabagina, sparked debate on the challenges faced by the modern world and highlighted aspects of their growing interdependence. Finally, a performance by the participants of an extract from Sophocles’ Antigone provided an opportunity to sum up and reflect on the conflict – of ongoing relevance today – between natural law and State-promulgated laws.
