Why a tolerant society is not a free society
Individual freedom is the libertarian ideal, the abstract value which guides moral action. As a political idea, libertarianism emerged in the latter part of the 19th century from liberalism, the overarching political paradigm to come from the Enlightenment. Liberalism centred the individual, both as the architect of his own destiny through his faculty for [...]
Brexit: A lesson in the flaws of Democracy
The UK has voted to leave the EU. More precisely, a little over half of voters have voted to leave the EU. But the losing side is crying foul play. A petition to hold a new [...]
A few lessons from the Brexit vote
The architects of the European Union clearly viewed it as a political Hotel California, where once you joined there was no checking out. Before the Lisbon Treaty came into [...]
Some useful facts about guns and America
American gun culture has again come in for severe criticism after the latest mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 49 people were killed when 29-year old [...]
Brexit: When to vote with the Left
Only a few days to go and it’s a tight race. Bookmakers still favour a ‘Remain’ vote but ‘Leave’ is edging ahead in the polls. Politicians from all sides are busy [...]
The Fed surprises no-one as it continues to try to fool us
By the time the US Federal Reserve Bank met this earlier this week all expectations of a rate hike had long since evaporated. It was of course the awful jobs report published [...]
Weight loss, wedding cakes and the tyranny of political correctness
As one of his first actions as London Mayor, Sadiq Khan has moved to ban adverts featuring “unrealistic and unhealthy body shapes” on London’s busses and the tube. Under [...]
Free speech: An absolute
It should be clear to most that free speech is an absolute: you either have it or you do not – there is no grey zone. Free speech is not the freedom to say what is not [...]
The unjust circus of the parliamentary select committees
Yesterday, Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley appeared before the House of Commons Business Select Committee to defend himself against allegations around work practices at his [...]
Surprise! US jobs report puts rate hikes on hold
On Friday we had the latest US Jobless Claims report and it surprised to the downside. Significantly. Only 38,000 new jobs were added in May and that was way below [...]
Should the government make iPhones?
How many people think the iPhone would be better if it had been produced by the government? Would you think the battery life would be longer? That there would be more apps? A [...]