On 1 February, I caught up with Dave Fishwick, star of Channel 4’s fantastic series Bank of Dave: Convinced that he can do a better job than the high street banks, Dave Fishwick sets up his own small bank and endeavours to make it profitable – in just 180 days […]
Read MoreAs the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index repeatedly shows, entrepreneurship and opportunity are the primary keys to overall prosperity. It is because life in society is a creative dynamic process of discovering how best to serve the needs of other people and to adjust to them. If we are to become the […]
Read MoreThis morning, after spotting Allister Heath’s boldly optimistic article for the Telegraph, I chaired the Parliamentary launch of the 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index. It’s not enough to consider quality of life by material things alone: Gross Domestic Product neglects great swathes of factors which make life worth living. As the […]
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Dave Fishwick is a remarkable man. A self-made entrepreneur, he knows good business builds up society. So when he realised the banks were failing both savers and productive businesses, he set up Burnley Savings and Loans as a step towards a “tiny, tiny bank”. Dave personally guarantees customers’ savings out […]
Read MoreA recent Telegraph article reported that the NHS is paying “extortionate” prices for basic computer equipment and services. It showed that the NHS buys computer equipment at an average 28% more than wholesale prices. This is a shocking misuse of tax payers’ money and shows that the state is often […]
Read MoreTwo days ago, Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs executive director, resigned in sensational fashion, writing a column in the New York Times. In the article, he laid out the reasons for his resignation, citing the change in culture at the firm over the ten years he worked there. He wrote, […]
Read MoreVia LearnLiberty.org: And also: Society is concerted action, cooperation. Society is the outcome of conscious and purposeful behaviour. … Individual man is born into a socially organized environment. In this sense alone we may accept the saying that society is–logically or historically–antecedent to the individual. In every other sense this […]
Read MoreAfter so much economic turmoil, the traditional wish for a prosperous new year can be given with considerable vigour. The 2010 Legatum Prosperity Index (PDF) – “the world’s only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing” – showed that entrepreneurship and opportunity are the primary keys to prosperity, that they correlate more […]
Read MoreUpdate: amended links for public read access. This afternoon, I am presenting five books which illustrate that ideas are more powerful than armies at the Young Briton’s Foundation conference. Here are the slides: Or browse here:
Read MoreIt’s my 40th birthday. I found myself reflecting on life and what it means to promote prosperity, in the broadest sense. That led me to the Legatum Institute‘s Prosperity Index. The Prosperity Index provides a global assessment of wealth and wellbeing. The key findings are fascinating. In particular, “Entrepreneurship and opportunity correlate more […]
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