Publications

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the play ends with the death of all the main characters, upon which Denmark is taken over by a foreign force. For Britain, there may soon only be the International Monetary Fund to turn to. Hamlet’s last words were ‘the rest is silence.’ Maybe that would be the best national motto for Britain as well.

The elections for the European Parliament are at least as bizarre as the song contest. And just as nobody can remember last year’s Eurovision winners, the results of the EU elections are likely be forgotten soon after they are declared.

Was sich vielleicht zunächst nach einer naheliegenden Erweiterung der Idee des freiheitlichen Rechtsstaats anhört, entpuppt sich jedoch bei genauerer Betrachtung als Perversion desselben. Die Idee der Rechte zukünftiger Generationen oder einer nicht näher bestimmten Natur ist nämlich in Wahrheit inkompatibel mit Freiheit und Privatautonomie. Damit lässt sie sich auch nicht mit dem Gedanken der Menschenwürde verbinden. Ganz davon abgesehen spricht aus ihr ein tiefes Misstrauen gegenüber der Möglichkeit von Fortschritt durch Veränderung.

Over the past 15 years, Australia enjoyed the benefits of having a comparatively small government, healthy public finances, and strong economic growth. Swan’s budget signifies a departure from all of this. The Treasurer is leading us towards big government, permanent deficits, high debt, and slow growth. As it turns out, this is the very opposite of smart government.

Neo-liberalism is a far richer, more thoughtful concept than it is mostly perceived today. To those criticising neo-liberalism today, the answer may well be just that: we need more of this kind of neo-liberalism that sets a good framework for a free economy. What we would need less of is only the rhetorical abuse of neo-liberalism for political purposes.

Neoliberalism is one of the most commonly used words in political debates. Despite this, the origins of neoliberalism are hardly known. Nor does there appear to be a generally accepted definition of the term. The original inventors of the word ‘neoliberalism’ had something completely different in mind. Their philosophy was a reasiong to the Great Depression of the 1930s. As such it was meant to show a ‘Third way’ between capitalism and socialism. Today’s critics of neoliberalism have more in common with neoliberalism than they may think.

It is quite ironic how neoliberalism re-surfaced a few decades later, albeit bearing an entirely different meaning. Where neoliberalism once was a positive, optimist philosophy it has been reduced to nothing but a political swearword. Unsurprisingly, nobody wants to be a neoliberal any more.

In an email debate, David Hetherington and Oliver Hartwich discuss the coming budget, whether the Government’s stimulus package is wise and sustainable, and what Treasurer Wayne Swan should drink on budget night.