Solving immigration is a question of economics
Across Europe and the USA, immigration is the hottest of political topics. How many immigrants is too many? Who should be allowed in and who should be turned away? How far does our obligation to help refugees actually go? But underlying the often heated discussion lies the fact that many Western economies have become dependent on immigration. In many [...]
Is the left too emotional? No, they are too rational!
A commonly heard criticism of leftists is that they are prone to be driven by emotion rather than reasoned arguments. The easy solution of taking from the rich and giving to [...]
What is fascism?
The word “fascism” is often used – and mis-used – to describe politicians and policies which are perceived to be somehow aligned with totalitarian ideas. But while it [...]
Did central banks create inflation?
Inflation, said the Nobel price winning economist Milton Friedman, is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. Put simply, what he meant is that the price level is a [...]
The collapse of SVB and the problem with contemporary capitalism
When the Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on March 10 2023, it was not a household name. The bank, largely focussed on venture capital firms and tech startups, was however the [...]
Mao and the Cultural Revolution
Few people in history have been as influential as Karl Marx. His ideas would shape a century, but the man himself would not live to see it, because it was only a few decades [...]
Is there a “social contract”?
We often hear the argument that a “social contract” obliges us to behave in a particular way, because we are bound in a mutually dependent relationship with society and [...]
Trapped in a disaster of our own making
The Western world is trapped. A perfectly foreseeable disaster is unfolding as years of irresponsible and unsustainable policies catch up with our institutions of [...]
Is the British economy at the brink of collapse?
Britain is finding itself in a bit of financial turmoil. In the wake of the new Conservative government’s mini budget a few weeks ago, the international financials markets [...]
What happened in the wake of the Mini Budget?
Liz Truss came off to the worst possible start as Prime Minister. First, she became the last person to shake the hand of the late Queen Elisabeth and, after two weeks of [...]
Markets missed inflation, Austrian economists did not
High and persistent inflation has come as a surprise for many. The US Federal Reserve famously labelled inflation ‘transitory’ in early 2021, and for months stuck to the [...]