New anti-market movements are emerging. In Britain and America, a revivalist Left is ascendant, winning not only seats in Parliament and Congress, but hearts and minds in classrooms, on campuses and online. The appeal of the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, especially to younger generations, presents a real threat to free-market capitalism. But […]
Unlike most issues in politics today, there is widespread agreement that the UK is facing a housing crisis. While new-build volumes have risen since the financial crisis of 2008/09, they are still way short of the 300,000 per year target that used to be achieved comfortably in the 1950s. In recent decades, the combination of […]
When you tax something, you get less of it. That’s why when governments want to raise revenue to fund public services, they need to pay close attention to how taxes affect behaviour. In general, they would be wise to tax ‘bads’ (e.g. tobacco, pollution, and congestion) before taxing ‘goods’ (e.g. work, investment, and R&D). If […]
I never put too much faith in surveys, but I was heartened to see one published today suggesting that Britons are more favourably disposed to the rich than people in France, Germany and even the United States. Moreover the survey suggests that millennials, for all their flirtation with Corbynmania, are more supportive than any other age group. […]
Many politicians are sceptical that competitive markets can effectively protect consumers. They think that, in the absence of government intervention, private firms will prey upon gullible customers. The lifework of Jack Bogle, founder of investment fund giant Vanguard, belies politicians’ incredulity. Bogle, who died in January at the ripe old age of 89, made it […]
In the week of the annual rail fare rise, this year at the higher rate of measured inflation, writing in defence of Britain’s railways is a brave — or perhaps even foolhardy — endeavour. It’s certainly true that recent news hasn’t been good: acute delays on some lines, bankrupted and bailed-out franchises, the re-timetabling was […]
One fascinating theme when looking across the history of politics in general, and of public opinion in particular, is that the great philosophical debates of one era simply don’t crop up in another. Some of the great ideological clashes of the 1970s and 80s around the size of role of the state, for example, became […]
Over the Christmas week, CapX is republishing its favourite pieces from the past year. This was first published on January 23. Credit to Oxfam’s communications team. Each year, riding on the coattails of the jamboree in Davos, they manage to make a huge splash about global wealth inequality. And every year, it is pointed out that, […]
More than 60 years ago, in March 1957, Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed the independence of the British Gold Coast. Nkrumah, educated at British and American universities, was convinced of two things: first, that only independence would allow African peoples to succeed and second, that the ideal vehicle to do so would be a special kind of […]
When a younger woman, my cousin spent much time studying astrology, numerology and palmistry. She wanted to understand what people are like and why. She was especially interested in understanding herself. Several branches of science address these questions: developmental psychology, socio-biology, anthropology and sociology, among others. I pointed this out to my cousin. But she […]
There are few words in the English language which better encompass everything conservatism is meant to be about than “home”. Home is not just the roof over your head. Home is where you are from, where you feel you belong, where you feel safe. We humans are not abstract beings; we exist in particular spaces […]
Will Hutton is one of many who claims that government spending has, in recent years, been cut to the bone in a manner of almost unparalleled cruelty. “Imagine,” he writes in his most recent column, that “[the government] had not chosen to cut its post-financial crisis deficit solely by public spending cuts of unparalleled severity.” The […]
The Campaign to Protect Rural England has released another in a long line of reports claiming that the green belt is disappearing at an alarming rate. Newspapers lapped this up, as they always do. Readers were told the development is a tragedy for the environment and a national disgrace. The articles were furnished with misleading […]
At last some good news. Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch brand behemoth, has axed its plans to flee grim Brexit Britain. If it had done so, it would have been a huge Vote of No Confidence in London and the FTSE100, resulting in the loss of one of the most sustainable and reliable businesses in the index. […]
I’ve never really understood the point of a think tank launching a commission full of high profile entrepreneurs, politicians, and trade unionists. To start with they tend to be rather dull. High-profile and time-poor individuals don’t back new ideas. Worse, these commissions tend to get dominated by the most politically active members with hobby horses. […]
The most important thing to have happened in North Korea in the last few decades might just be something that has nothing to do with nuclear missiles, hasn’t made the front page of any newspaper and has very little to do with the Kim dynasty. According to a new report from Beyond Parallel, an initiative […]
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