What is fascism?
The word “fascism” is often used – and mis-used – to describe politicians and policies which are perceived to be somehow aligned with totalitarian ideas. But while it is often apparent right-wing policies that are described as fascist, in fact, fascism shares its ideological roots with progressive politics.
Indeed, to understand fascism, we [...]
The Gulag: depraved, brutal, ignored and forgotten
Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago is a tough read. Published in 1973, the three-volume masterpiece is a harrowing account of arrests, convictions and [...]
An antidote to chaos: how Jordan Peterson can help libertarians
Jordan Peterson is not a libertarian. At least, he is no anarchist. Peterson believes there is a role for government, in providing a social security net and regulate certain [...]
The Greece bailout: when you run out of other people’s money
The final chapter in the Greek bailout tragedy is supposed to play out over the summer. After joining the EU and subsequently the Euro, Greece had been living beyond its means [...]
Did socialism destroy Venezuela? No, a lack of capitalism did
‘That wasn’t real socialism’ is the go-to excuse from the hard left whenever another left-wing regime bites the dust. While we may smile at the apparent desperation of [...]
The case against inheritance tax
‘Why not fund the welfare state with a 100% inheritance tax?’ So asked Guardian columnist Abi Wilkinson in a column from July 2017. The concept of steep inheritance taxes [...]
The end of monetary life support
In late April the yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond broke 3% for the first time in more than four years. Back then it was the fear of the consequences of the unwind of [...]
Equal access and the market for “social justice”
In Britain we have something called Equality Act, a piece of legislation which aims to protect people with a range of characteristics and provide “equal opportunity” for [...]
Under socialism, who will do the dirty work?
‘From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs’, wrote Karl Marx in his 1875 book ‘Critique of the Gotha Programme’. The tenet that work is an [...]
The UK’s Orwellian hate speech laws are a bad joke
Count Dankula, the YouTuber, was today fined £800 for teaching his girlfriend’s pet pug dog to perform a Nazi salute. Dankula, real name Mark Meechan, had thought out the [...]
The greenbelts and the spirit of Peel
Greenbelts are the rings of countryside surrounding London and other large UK cities, designed to contain urban sprawl and preserve green spaces for the citizenry’s casual [...]