Jimmy Reid’s “Alienation” speech, often known as the rat race speech, delivered in 1972 at University of Glasgow, argues that modern society reduces people to cogs in a “rat race”, stripping work, education, and daily life of meaning and dignity. Reid calls for a human-centred society based on solidarity, purpose, and democratic involvement rather than profit and competition. More than 50 years on it still feels strikingly relevant — which is why it’s often compared to landmark speeches like the