Of Nations and Peoples

College Master Professor Sir James Mirrlees addressed students at the College's first Formal Hall dinner of the Spring term.

On 8 January 2014, the College commemorated the start of the Spring 2014 semester with a Formal Hall dinner. Fellows and students gathered in the dining hall to enjoy the semester's inaugural meal as the Master of Morningside set the intellectual tone for the semester with a talk on nations and peoples.

Of particular interest to Professor Mirrlees was Scotland's Independence Referendum, which asks "Should Scotland be an independent country?". In the course of his talk, Professor Mirrlees explained the wide-ranging factors – economic need, political ambition, and military strength – that could impact the unity or disunity of a nation or state. While recent events throughout Africa and Europe show that there are multiple reasons for states to sever into two or three different countries, as an economist, Professor Mirrlees explained the ways in which unity could be more prudent than disunity for nations and economies.

In the engaging question and answer session that followed, students asked for the Master's thoughts on the Sudan, the future of statehood, and the self-interests of those who encourage or discourage national independence. The talk was followed by tiramisu and well wishes for the Spring term.