What is a nation?
In the modern political tradition, patriotism has always been revered. Not only is pride in and devotion to country seen as a positive, but its absence is also often taken as a sign of moral deficiency. Nationalism, on the other hand, is more suspect. The nationalist identifies with the nation and nationalism can manifest as a political ideology, as it did [...]
The real reason behind ‘Our Broken Economy’
The NY Times today ran a much-hyped op-ed column entitled ‘Our Broken Economy, in One Simple Chart’. Said chart (below, produced by researchers including Thomas Piketty) [...]
Exploiting the lazy: are UK energy prices too high?
After holding prices steady for 4 years, last week British Gas raised electricity prices by 12.5%. The average dual fuel bill will go up by £76 a year, a 7.3% rise. Consumers [...]
Venezuela implodes; socialists seek excuses
As Venezuela burns, socialist everywhere are desperately trying to disown the tragedy. Over recent years, while it has become increasingly clearer that the country is in a [...]
Something rotten in the state of Denmark: Does Scandinavia get it right?
The ‘Scandinavian Model’ is revered on the left, held up as a beacon of socialism delivered; a utopia of high taxes, large public sectors, cradle-to-grave welfare and [...]
Are the rich greedy?
The rich, conventional wisdom has it, are greedy, unscrupulous and selfish. The left happily play into the stereotype, justifying wealth distribution not only with the need of [...]
How cheap money built the housing crisis
Those who crusade against inequality can find no better proof of a wealth gap than in the housing market: while many home owners have found themselves unexpectedly wealthy [...]
A Tale of Two Cities: What Grenfell Tower tells us about capitalism
David Lammy, the Tottenham Labour MP, gave an emotional interview in the days after the Grenfell Tower tragedy: ‘This is a tale of two cities. This is what Dickens was [...]
The real issues behind the public sector pay debate
Boris Johnson is the latest Tory voice to join the chorus calling for lifting the 1% cap on annual public sector wage growth. George Osborne introduced a pay freeze the first [...]
Our greed is good: the fake righteousness of socialism
The case against socialism as a system for the organisation of human relations and economics should be easy to make. Ludwig von Mises showed how economic calculation is an [...]
The Marx Brothers: Not funny anymore
The left of British politics is rejoicing in an unexpected electoral resurgence. A skillful campaign has positioned Jeremy Corbyn as a political superstar and likely prime [...]