2010

No more hope or glory for Britain

The stakes for Britain could hardly be higher. A return to the pre-crisis times of ‘Cool Britannia’, let alone Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory is nowhere in sight. And instead of only printing Adam Smith’s portrait on their bank notes, British policy-makers should rather have read the great master. [...]

Learning about Hayek the hard way

IN his masterpiece, The Road to Serfdom, Friedrich Hayek considered the follies of mistaken policies to conclude: "We shall not grow wiser before we learn that much that we have done was very foolish." If only Kevin Rudd heeded this advice, his much-televised apologies for the government's insulation fiasco and other policy blunders would be more credible. [...]

Lefties too clever by half

This week’s news held an unpleasant surprise for the world’s conservatives and religious. Luckily for them, they were probably too dumb to understand it. [...]

Europe can’t afford weak leaders

Europe’s centre-right has instead embarked on the task of presenting themselves as the nicer social-democrats, purging themselves of any trace economic liberalism and any old-fashioned conservative instincts. Unfortunately, this unprincipled race for popularity will do nothing to restore Europe’s competitiveness. [...]

Nuclear’s global renaissance

With giant uranium reserves under our feet, Australia should seriously consider whether it wants to be part of the new nuclear age or content itself with just providing nuclear fuel to others. [...]

Europe’s slow, painful death

There is something comical about current talk about a potential Greek bankruptcy. No, the state of Greece’s public finances is certainly no laughing matter. But it is funny how politicians and financial markets are getting excited about this as if it were news. [...]

Strange new world

If at some stage in the future people should wonder when enviro-fundamentalism became mainstream, it was probably in the commercial break of the 2010 Super Bowl. [...]

The euro is a failed experiment that should be cashed in

Greece's budget problems are not just a worry for this small economy at the periphery of the European Union. It is an acute embarrassment to European elites that pushed through monetary union for political reasons. If they had only listened to economic advice they would have spared their countries a costly economic adventure. [...]

Ripped off and overcharged? Not necessarily

Consumers have no right to demand a certain price. But they have a right not to buy things when they find them too expensive. And that's a message that even the most extortionate businessman understands. [...]

Behind the Moral Curtain: The Politics of a Charter of Rights

Just as judges are not philosopher-kings, nor are legislative drafters. The terms of a charter are subject to the influence of lobbyists; the judicial interpretation of charters is subject to manipulation by legal experts; and the pervasiveness of a charter is impossible to avoid. [...]