France’s economic and financial ills are well-known: unemployment at over 10% and rising; a stagnant economy with growth predicted to be less than 1% in 2014; a slump in consumer spending; government expenditure at 57% of GDP; a budget deficit that shows no sign of coming down or of meeting EU targets; an inflexible labour […]
Moving away from statism in India is highly desirable — but unlikely. At a panel discussion on “The economic agenda of the next government: is an economic regime change necessary and possible?” at the Indian School of Business in Mohali, I answered that such a change was necessary but not likely. This column elaborates on […]
Imagine that a certain Grantham grocer had decided to sell his business. His daughter would have not taken it well had a government official intervened and tried to prevent him, concerned perhaps that there would have been a threat to the employment prospects of a delivery boy or that the purchaser might want to rationalise […]
The 1981 air traffic controllers dispute marked the beginning of a counter-revolution against union power in the United States. Twenty two times in the post-war years various American unions had violated no-strike agreements. These violations had gone unpunished by repeatedly meek politicians, until in 1981 the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organisation (PATCO) launched the 23rd […]
Since capitalism has become the world-wide economic model, billions of men and women have left mass poverty behind and lead lives unimaginable to their forebears. Under the influence of the likes of Adam Smith in the UK or Jean-Baptiste Say in France, capitalism had been known as the way towards the wealth of nations. Yet […]
Wimbledon is, for most people, the world’s tennis tournament. It happens to take place in Britain, but it isn’t really a British event. Almost no one alive can remember a previous occasion when a British men’s singles champion was defending his title. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club opens its doors to the […]
The young Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has announced that he plans to “change Europe.” This sounds ambitious. Indeed, going into this week’s crucial Ypres summit he had overtaken Britain’s David Cameron in the race to win over Germany’s Angela Merkel on EU reform, according to Bloomberg. Ian Wishart reports from Brussels: “Emboldened by the […]
Innovation is the fundamental factor which increases living standards. From curing diseases to speeding up our daily commute to improving crop yields, innovation makes us healthier, wealthier and happier. Innovation is thus one of the key ingredients of productivity growth which in turn is the key ingredient for economic growth and acceleration of real wages. […]
Whatever view one takes of faith, “Original sin” is the best two-word summary of the human condition. It is echoed in Kant’s slightly longer version, “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, nothing straight is ever made.” It follows that any political or economic venture which presupposes human perfectibility is doomed to failure. By contrast, […]
Freedom and Democracy are words which are hard to avoid in any discussion of the principles of government. They are easy enough to understand, but hard to define. The best definition I can think of comes from Mrs Thatcher. She said, of her principles of governing, that she was concerned with freedom within the law. […]
It was going to be one of the great themes of the Thatcher era, a key part of what we saw as the coming freedom. All through the seventies, and as far back as the late sixties, we toiled in the Conservative backrooms trying to give real momentum and depth to the cause of popular […]
Among all major religions, Islam is the only one founded by a trader. According to the holy Quran (dictated by God himself to this prophet), profit is good as long the wealthy merchant redistributes a modest part of his acquired wealth to the poor. No idealization of poverty can be found in Islam, which makes […]
So the French are unhappy with EU competition policy. In fact, the French are unhappy with any sort of competition, including the competition for French companies and the competition from imports. They are unhappy with the prospect of American competition with their less efficient farmers, and of competition from American Internet giants. They might be […]
We’re getting to that time of year when the media pickings start to thin out for the summer, and even the liveliest editor feels the siren call of that old fallback, the “list” article. Best holiday books? Mountain getaways? Beachwear? Manifesto policies? OK, so I made that last one up. But if political policies could […]
The explosion of “money-printing” since the financial crisis is a dangerous delusion which has stored up trouble for the future, says Liam Halligan, writing for CapX. A Western central banker is ordering a pizza over the telephone. “Should I cut your pizza cut into six slices or eight slices, sir?” asks the youthful restaurant staffer. […]
During the Occupy événements in 2011, I happened to be passing the protest camp at St Paul’s Cathedral, and decided to stop for a chat. The activists were a mixed bunch. Some were obviously full-time agitators – sour, sun-burned and sinister. Others, though, were bright, idealistic youngsters who seemed motivated by an uncomplicated desire to […]
Watch or listen to CapX’s weekly podcast ‘The Capitalist’ wherever you get your podcasts.
