Tom Hodgkinson on Loving Your Neighbour

11.30am, Sunday 26th October 2008
Horse Hospital, 30 Colonnade London
 
Love thy neighbour as thyself, first appears in the book of Leviticus, an instruction manual, written to enable the ancient Hebrews to live together. It is full of obligations that sound rather odd to the modern ear, such as not making clothes from more than one kind of thread. But it has some insights that have stood the test of time. ‘Love thy neighbour’ is an outstanding example.
 
Must we literally love our neighbour? Absolutely, Tom Hodgkinson argues. For the last six years, Tom has been trying to live by medieval ethics, which means spending a lot of time with his neighbours. Medieval times saw an approach to life which was eco-friendly, neighbourly and based on cooperating rather than competing. Tom believes that in today’s economically uncertain times, we need more than ever to be inspired by these values.
 
Tom Hodgkinson was born in 1968, founded The Idler in 1993, and now lives in Devon. His bestselling books include How To Be Idle, How To Be Free and How To Be An Idle Parent.