During the Transport Comittee today, one of the witnesses described the personal injury system as “the free market as it is today”. On closer questioning, it turned out that what passes for a market is hampered by heavy structural interventions and price controls imposed by the state. It occurred to me […]
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OpenEurope
I met today with the excellent think tank OpenEurope, along with other MPs of various parties: Open Europe is an independent think tank, with offices in London and Brussels, set up by some of the UK’s leading business people to contribute bold new thinking to the debate about the direction […]
Read MoreOfgem urges a shake-up of the energy market
This post originally appeared at cobdencentre.org. Via FT.com, Ofgem urges a shake-up of the energy market, Sweeping reforms of the UK’s energy market must be brought in urgently to protect energy supplies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deliver the £200bn investment needed in the power sector, the energy regulator said […]
Read MoreSoviet Britain
Via the Institute for Economic Affairs, we discover the state devouring the economy – ie, the cooperative actions of free people – for over a century: See also The Times Online, ‘Soviet’ Britain swells amid the recession: The state now looms far larger in many parts of Britain than it […]
Read MoreBig Players and the Economic Theory of Expectations
This post originally appeared on cobdencentre.org. Via FT.com / US / Economy & Fed – Fed signals pullback in liquidity supports, we learn: The Federal Reserve on Wednesday upgraded its assessment of the US economy and highlighted its intention to shut down most of its crisis-fighting liquidity facilities in early […]
Read MoreSustainability: An Assault on Economics – Tyler A. Watts
One of my key areas of interest is how to deliver sustainable, stable and inclusive prosperity. This is why I dedicate so much time to economics. However, the word “sustainable” may not convey the same thing to everyone: via Sustainability: An Assault on Economics – Tyler A. Watts – Mises […]
Read MoreOfwat, Water UK, the Consumer Council for Water and The Managerial Revolution
In this article, I make the case that we live in a managerial society, one born in the tragedy of the first half of the twentieth century, and that it is this social system which is failing today. I also set out what can be done about it: the future […]
Read MoreClimate targets can’t be achieved, say energy companies – Telegraph
Via Climate targets can’t be achieved, say energy companies – Telegraph: Energy companies have privately warned the Government that its climate change targets are “illusory” and “delusional” as global leaders prepare to sign up to stricter guidelines at the Copenhagen climate change conference in six weeks. We are already facing […]
Read MoreHow should we live?
After debating today with my pastor whether what the world needs is more or less government intervention in the cooperative actions of individuals (ie, the economy), I rediscovered the following from De Tocqueville (1835/1840). The passage paints his vision of a future democratic society, indicating how he foresaw people might […]
Read MoreMoral Markets and Honest Money
Revised and updated: reconciling our conflicting views of the market through consistent principle and morality. A Christian friend is an avowed socialist and another associate is determinedly left wing. I asked them recently what socialism meant to them. The answer was essentially “people being good to one another”: kindness, compassion, […]
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