Reflections on Theory and Practice.

Abstract

I am very honoured by this tribute, and grateful to everyone involved for their efforts in organising it. I count myself very lucky to have survived for so long and still feel relatively fit, so that I can continue enjoying an intellectual life that I do not regard as ‘work’, because I do not need to be paid, so I can do what I please. I am also fortunate because I was able to use my career in academia to gain some understanding of what became a hot political topic, taxation of multinationals. This put me into a perhaps unique position to try and bridge the wide gap between the often simplistic level of public debates and the recondite knowledge of specialists on the issue. These are some reflections about my experience of trying to combine a broad political commitment with the arduous but rewarding work of trying to understand how the world works, and to help change it.