Moral Maze
BBC Radio 4
Categories: Religion & Spirituality
Listen to the last episode:
In recent weeks tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Spain’s most popular tourist destinations. From Málaga to Mallorca, Gran Canaria to Granada, locals are revolting against what they see as the hollowing out of their communities with the buying up of properties to turn them into short-stay holiday lets for people they argue don’t respect their locality, culture or language. UNESCO has described the situation as "totally out of balance".
On one level this is an argument about economics, but the implications are profoundly moral. People shouldn’t feel like second-class citizens in their own towns, but we also recognise the freedom to move, rest and discover. The affordability of travel makes mass tourism possible, but it’s lamented by those who see it as selfish, narcissistic and damaging to native cultures and the environment. And yet travel supposedly broadens the mind and the soul – a cultural exchange that can be a catalyst for self-improvement, make us more empathetic, and provide a livelihood for host communities.
Should foreign tourism be discouraged? Or if it’s mass tourism we’re worried about, what can we do about it without holidays becoming an elitist pursuit?
Producer: Dan Tierney Assistant producer: Ruth Purser
Panel: Giles Fraser Sonia Sodha Ash Sarkar Tim Stanley
Witnesses: Guillem Colom-Montero Jim Butcher Anna Hughes Emily Thomas
Previous episodes
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230 - Should Foreign Tourism Be Discouraged? Thu, 15 Aug 2024
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229 - What do the riots say about Britain? Thu, 08 Aug 2024
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228 - Is anything sacred? Thu, 01 Aug 2024
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227 - 24/07/2024 Thu, 25 Jul 2024
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226 - How can we reduce the temperature of politics? Thu, 18 Jul 2024
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225 - The Morality of Stepping Down Thu, 11 Jul 2024
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224 - What is history for? Thu, 04 Jul 2024
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223 - Price vs Value of Arts and Culture Thu, 27 Jun 2024
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222 - Do we need a final farewell? Thu, 20 Jun 2024
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221 - Democracy - is our system morally superior? Mon, 17 Jun 2024
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220 - The morality of work Wed, 28 Feb 2024
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219 - The morality of forgiveness Thu, 07 Mar 2024
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218 - The morality of immigration Mon, 26 Feb 2024
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217 - The morality of marriage Mon, 26 Feb 2024
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216 - The moral case for veganism Mon, 26 Feb 2024
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215 - The Purpose of Punishment Thu, 01 Feb 2024
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214 - Ukraine - the moral case for ceding land for peace Fri, 26 Jan 2024
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213 - Is it time to allow assisted dying? Thu, 18 Jan 2024
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212 - Identity Labels Wed, 22 Nov 2023
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211 - Should politics be guided by public opinion? Wed, 22 Nov 2023
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210 - How should we remember the dead and the living? Fri, 10 Nov 2023
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209 - Are prisons doing more harm than good? Thu, 19 Oct 2023
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208 - How should we think about our enemies? Thu, 12 Oct 2023
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207 - Is impartiality a myth? Fri, 06 Oct 2023
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206 - The Language of Freedom Wed, 04 Oct 2023
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205 - Adults, Children and Power Thu, 21 Sep 2023
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204 - Is idleness good for us? Thu, 27 Jul 2023
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203 - The Morality of Climate Activism Fri, 21 Jul 2023
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202 - Cluster bombs and the ethics of warfare Thu, 13 Jul 2023
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201 - The Morality of Privatisation Thu, 06 Jul 2023
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200 - The morality of news coverage Wed, 05 Jul 2023
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199 - Should science ever be stopped? Fri, 23 Jun 2023
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198 - The Morality of Borders Thu, 15 Jun 2023
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197 - Football: a moral force for good? Thu, 08 Jun 2023
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196 - How should we understand ‘cancel culture’? Thu, 01 Jun 2023
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195 - How should we talk about suicide? Thu, 25 May 2023
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194 - AI - the end of humanity or the next evolutionary step? Fri, 31 Mar 2023
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193 - Is Growth a False God? Thu, 23 Mar 2023
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192 - Is pacifism admirable, immoral, or just impractical? Thu, 16 Mar 2023
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191 - Breach of Trust Thu, 09 Mar 2023
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190 - Leaders with faith Fri, 03 Mar 2023
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189 - How should Britain make amends for its colonial past? Thu, 23 Feb 2023
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188 - Why does God allow natural disasters to happen? Thu, 16 Feb 2023
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187 - Morality and Money Thu, 09 Feb 2023
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186 - What is Evil? Thu, 02 Feb 2023
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185 - Human Maturity Thu, 26 Jan 2023
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184 - Personal Debt Thu, 19 Jan 2023
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183 - The Ethics of the Family Thu, 12 Jan 2023
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182 - Kindness Thu, 22 Dec 2022
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181 - What do we work for? Thu, 15 Dec 2022