December 01, 2003
Another WTO Success
They may seem few and far between, but occasionally they get something done. We can only hope this can act as a roadblock to the spiralling protectionism seen in todays world.
November 24, 2003
Which monopoly?
I've heard time and time again that Wal-Mart was becoming more and more of a monopoly as they increased their market power and put rivals out of business. Of course, the beauty of the marketplace is that it was only a matter of time that competitive incentives would lead offer opportunities for new competitors to enter the market - namely Target. And compete they will.
If you can't beat them...
While searching through anti Wal-Mart websites, I found this excellent quote from an otherwise elimentarily written article at the Organic Consumers Association.
"Some specialty retailers have adopted an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" tack and seek locations near Wal-Marts in the hope that consumers unsatisfied with the depth and breath of specialized merchandise at Wal-Mart will come across the street to make their purchases."
The article goes on to explain how Wal-Mart rivals reposition themselves to target specialist services that Wal-Mart is unable to supply. What the article fails to mention is how the addition of low-priced products from Wal-Mart and the resulting increases of speciailist services and products offered from Wal-Mart's rivals could possibly be a bad thing.
Jonah on the Simpsons
I don't usually make a habit of reading the National Review, though I do occasionally enjoy reading Jonah Goldberg with his refreshing straight talk. Here is an article I recently stumbled across written on the Simpsons, attributing the Simpsons to conservative values. Reading this, it is easy to see not just the conservative, but the libertarian leanings of this and popular TV shows.
November 21, 2003
Creeping Problem
Top economic leaders are urging governments stop the creeping protectionism that the world has witnessed over the past few years. Greenspan was quoted at a recent monetary conference: "Some clouds of emerging protectionism have become increasingly visible on today's horizon. Consequently, it is imperative that creeping protectionism be thwarted and reversed."
Steel tariffs, agricultural subsidies, and recent import caps on Chinese textiles are the legacy of one of the most protectionist administrations in decades.
A Bush in Britain
Cramming for tests kept me away from Bush's Whitehall Palace speech delivered two days ago, though I am currently reading through it. With few exceptions, it seems to be very non-partisan and elegantly underlines the foundations and importance of Anglo-American ties. Whether the speach was delivered as elegantly as it was written I cannot say.
On a lighter note:
"It was pointed out to me that the last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames. A few might have been happy to provide similar arrangements for me. I thank Her Majesty the Queen for interceding."
Any slip-ups? One. "Retain" instead of "Restrain." Sorry, anti-Bush people, this isn't a quotable.
November 20, 2003
On Istanbul
According to protesters in London, U.S. and British policy in Iraq was to blame for bomb blasts in Turkey earlier today. While the merits of the war in Iraq are admittedly in testing times, attributing the recent wave of Al Qaeda attacks in Turkey to policy in Iraq is wilful misinterpretation of reality. Turkey was staunchly opposed to any war in Iraq, and lets remember it was the left that has been quoting for ages the irrelevance of Iraq to the strength of Al Qaeda.
In truth, Al Qaeda continues to attack targets of opportunity in places they can reach – mostly western targets within the Mid-East. If anything, their willingness to attack Muslim targets shows both the success of Western anti-terror activity as well as the desperation of Al Qaeda to make a mark, any mark. Hopefully Al Qaeda’s continuing policy of attacking fellow Muslims will turn the tide of Arab support for this detestable organization.
As for the Bush state visit, I haven’t had much time to keep updated with it, though I do enjoy Tony Blair’s description of democracies fighting a war against evil. Evil - The very word many on the left adamantly denies existence in contemporary geopolitics.
November 13, 2003
November 09, 2003
The problem with politics...
Here is a list compiled by the Tax Foundation which compares how much states recieve back from Washington vs. how much they sent. A look over the list can tell you a lot about demographic and regional political favouring. (A proud note - NH ranks 48th at 66 cents to the dollar).
November 06, 2003
November 03, 2003
Liberty Club Event
Tonight the Liberty Club is hosting Richard D North, Writer and Commentator, in a talk entitled "Why Democracy needs Strong Institutions." Richard will argue that stable democracies result not from liberal ideologies, but rather from the institutions that allow such ideologies to flourish. The event will be held at 8PM in School I of St Salvator's Hall. This should be an excellent talk, addressing many important issues in today's attempts at nation-building. Hope to see lots of people there.
October 31, 2003
Fridays Funnies
From Reuters:
"Rumsfeld Doesn't Know if He's Lost His Mojo
"Have you lost your mojo?" a reporter asked Rumsfeld during a Pentagon briefing.
Rumsfeld said he did not consult a dictionary -- as he has for words like slog about which he has sparred with reporters -- but he spoke with an aide who had.
"And they asked me that, and I said, 'I don't know what it means.' And they said, 'In 1926 or something, it had to do with jazz music.'"
October 28, 2003
Some Stats
Being a mathematician, I always prefer numbers to vague arguments. I am not sure how many vague arguments I have heard in relation to oil and the middle east - so for all those who are curious, here is are some statistics from the US Energy Information Administration. This one is an overview of US petroleum trade - note the percentages in the "As Share of Product Supplied" section - this records what percentage of oil used in the US comes from each area. The Persian Gulf supplied 13.9% of the stock in 2001 and 11.6% in 2002. OPEC supplied 28.4% and 23.6% in those years, and net imports 56% and 53.5% - leaving nearly half of US oil being domestic. This table here gives monthly averages for number of barrels imported a day by country. Again, note the relative importance of the various nations, people rarely accuse the US of being imperialistic with Canada or Mexico. Yet this list is not exactly what the media and the anti-globalisation left would have us believe, eh?
Meritocracy or what?
One of my favourite arguments in defense of capitalism is that it is the only system the world has ever seen that is meritocratic- that is, it rewards people on the merits and NOT their societal positions, race, religion, or bizarre sexual practices. In discussion with Mark Pennington (who was excellent, by the way, his lecture notes will be on the liberty club's website soon), he mentioned that capitalism was not a meritocracy. It wasn't, he claimed, because a meritocracy would reward those that work the hardest, etc, while capitalism rewards those that work the most efficiently and in ways that best suit the needs of others. The obvious example for Mark would be the brilliant scientist who works for years with no success on a cancer drug, or the hard working entrepreneur who opens the largest Ski Shop in Rwanda. Mark seems to think these people are deserving of merit.
But are they? A look on Webster's finds a very different meaning of merit - "character or conduct deserving reward, honor, or esteem." Doesn't capitalism reward people based on just that? As with any system, not just any character or conduct could possibly attain reward, honor, or esteem, but what if that "character or conduct" was ranked based on utility to others? This is an extremely altriustic view of the marketplace, but contracts are made in markets only when others needs are met. People are thus "judged" by their ability to attain these contracts, which is a reflection on how well they are meeting the needs of others.
So Capitalism is a meritocracy. More so than any other in Modern History.
October 27, 2003
Un-reasonable Conundrum
Someone once said about the Duke of Wellington “there is less to that man than meets the eye”. I fear that the same applies to the “argument” below.
According to Andrew Haig, I “seem reluctant to allow for the reasonability of bar/restaurant workers taking legal suit against employers who intentionally operate smoking businesses.”
Andrew maintains that waiters should be able to sue their smoke-friendly establishments for damages – even if they freely consented to work in those establishments. He finds that reasonable…
Ok, let us for now ignore mundane issues, such as freedom, free will and free society. After all, freedom of contract does not seem to have a place in the society that Andrew advocates. Instead, lets look at what is “reasonable”.
AH says that it is reasonable for waiters to sue smoking bars for damages (even if they consented to work there). How about suing McDonald’s for selling hot drinks that are – well – hot and may cause slight burns! Is it reasonable to sue?
How about suing the army, which soldiers joined freely, for getting them injured during combat? How about extreme sports that lead to injury – who should pay up? How about over-eating and then suing Burger King for selling fattening foods? How about over-drinking and then suing Johnnie Walker for selling booze?
Well, you get the point.
The type of society that AH advocates is one where central planners (lets call them The Politburo or the Council of Elders) decide what is reasonable and what is not, not on the basis of personal responsibility, but on the basis of personal preferences.
It is a road to disaster, where even the last remnants of freedom will be extinguished in order to keep us protected – from ourselves!
October 26, 2003
Monday 27 October - Dr Mark Pennington - The Morality of Consumerism
Dr Mark Pennington will be returning to St Andrews to give a talk entitled “The
Morality of Consumerism.” Dr Pennington received an excellent response to his
talk last year on Globalisation and the Environment, and is excited to return
with to address an important if overlooked aspect of capitalism. The changing
senses of morality in today’s market and consumer society will be addressed.
As always, the talk will be at 8PM in School I of St Salvator’s Quad. The
event is free and open to students, staff, and members of the public.
October 22, 2003
Hypocritical or merely stupid?
Recently I learned of a Washington DC councilor, who is on a mission to eliminate smoking in that city. As someone who resides in DC, I would be less than happy to see my town follow the example of New York, where the mayor decided to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants. There are, of course, thousands of self-righteous politicians determined to tell others how they should live their lives. But, the above councilor is a little more special – he is gay. That is to say, he is a part of a small minority of people, whose lifestyle continues to be disapproved of by a majority of the populace in the West – let alone in the rest of the world.
The reason why homosexuality is not illegal in the West anymore is because in liberal democracies it does not matter what a particular politician or a majority of the people think. Gays are free to do as they please, because they are entitled to do so as free individuals. Indeed, it was in relation to individual freedom that the Supreme Court of the United States banned anti-sodomy laws in Texas this year. At that time, gays were perfectly happy to claim individual autonomy. Today, it seems, some gays do not wish to extend it to smokers and owners of smoker-friendly establishments. Whoever said that moral crusades and self-righteousness were only for heterosexuals?
Needless to say, the DC councilor does not see the irony. As a politician, he is perfectly happy to play according to the rules – namely – to find a powerless group of despised people, whom he can pick on and discriminate against. In that respect, our gay councilor and Pat Robertson are actually quite alike.
Addendum:
One reader makes an interesting observation: “One lifestyle choice externalizes the costs of one's actions onto others, and the other does not. The restricting of externalization IS a classic libertarian purpose for government, isn't it?” Let me try to deal with that objection here. Firstly, it is not true that the latter lifestyle is utterly cost free. A fundamentalist Christian, for instance, may find living in a society that accepts gays very painful [or costly in economic terms]. Of course, I would argue that that is a cost that he has to put up with if he wishes to be free to live the life of his choosing. To put it differently, both “lifestyles” come with costs attached. So, how to reconcile them? I think that we can reconcile them by returning to the concept of individual autonomy and the concomitant concept of private property. As classical liberals, therefore, we permit social arrangements that cater to all forms of lifestyles – so long as they happen within clearly delineated private property bounds. A smoking bar is an example of private property where people willingly congregate to smoke. A gay bar is a place for consentual congregation of gay men. And church is where fundamentalist Christians will – willingly – find their own kind. Thus everyone is happy. The answer to external costs, therefore, may not be government action – but private property.
October 19, 2003
Another reason to be libertarian...
I have been reading on the newly-formed Young Britons' Foundation, a conservative nation-wide student support organization modelled after the Young American's Foundation. The organization is taking off quickly, and will be holding a Training Conference in a few weeks time which should be excellent. Yet when reading through the site, especially the section devoted to fighting left-wing bias on campus, I was reminded of how reactionary conservatives, especially conservative students, tend to be. A large section of the site is dedicated to showing how a left-wing bias exists on campuses - hardly news. Conservatives from the YBF, NRO, and many other organizations seem to be great at complaining and worrying about the state of university politics. Conservatives should better spend their time promoting their own views actively, not reactively. Perhaps politics leads to the reactivity, but in a country where conservatism is quickly fading, this will hardly attract new members to the cause.
October 16, 2003
Rival in what?
When US Astronaut Michael Foale, commander of Expedition 8 to the International Space Station, was asked about the successes of the Chinese manned space flight, he responded: "Do I see China as a potential rival? Yes, not only in space, but already commercially, economically. I think militarily it's also a possibility." Perhaps there is a rival in space, what will this mean? Perhaps NASA will have to accomplish its goals more efficiently and aggressively. Perhaps this will invigorate the numerous private companies striving to achieve manned space flight. In what way is this a bad thing?
I don't think much needs to be said about the "commercial" and "economic" rivalry. Mercantilist thoughts sadly exists in many untrained minds, and continue to plague bad economic policy around the world. How is China an economic rival when both the western world and China benefit from their trade? As for the militaristic rivalry, this will become less and less important as China further globalizes its economy.
October 12, 2003
Liberty Club Event - Sir Samuel Brittan
Tomorrow, Monday 13 October, the Liberty Club is hosting Sir Samuel Brittan, acclaimed writer and commentator for the Financial Times. Sir Sameul's talk is entitled "What They Did Not Teach You," and will address economic policy issues oftentimes overlooked in teaching and university settings. A focus of his talk will be on the Austrian contribution to economic thought. The event runs from 8 until 9 in School I of St Salvator's Quad. At 9 Sir Samuel will proceed with club members to a pub to continue discussion over some drinks. All Liberty Club events are free and open to students, staff, and members of the public. For more information, visit the Future Events section of our website.
October 08, 2003
Arnie! Arnie!
For everyone who is completely out of touch, Arnold Schwarzenegger has just won the Californian recall election, taking power in the largest and most powerful state in the US. For those slightly more involved with politics, this could swing the Presidential elections in the state (which has voted predominantly Democrat for years now). With a staggering 55 of the total 538 electoral college votes, California can make or break any national election. (for perspective, my good old New Hampshire has 4)
For those even more in touch with Schwarzenegger and his political interests, check out his introduction to Video 1 of Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" Series. Quoted here:
"Milton and Rose Friedman's Free to Choose TV series has changed my life."
"I came from Austria, a socialistic country where government controlled the economy. A place where you can hear 18-year-old kids talking about their pensions. I wanted more. I wanted to be the best. I had to come to America. I had no money in my pocket, but here I had the freedom to get it. I have been able to parlay my muscles into a big movie career.
"Okay, so there I was, waiting for Maria to get ready for a game of mixed doubles tennis. I started flipping the television dial. I caught a glimpse of Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman whom I recognized from my studies in economics. I didn't know I was watching Free to Choose. It knocked me out. Dr. Friedman validated everything I ever thought about the way the economy works.
"I became a big pain in the neck about Free to Choose. All my friends and acquaintances got tapes as well as books for Christmas after Christmas. If I had come up with Free to Choose, maybe I wouldn't have got into body building."
--Arnold Schwarzenegger
October 07, 2003
Dr Eamonn Butler Visit
Last night we had our first event in our speaker series; Dr Eamonn Butler visited and talked on voucher systems. The event was a great success, with over 40 students showing up for the talk. A writeup of the event will be online soon here.
September 29, 2003
Society Fayre fairs well
In another promising sign of the coming year, the Liberty Club has signed up 152 new members at the Freshers Fayre. We are hopeful that with this large membership base we will be able to get an increasing number of students to our events.
September 27, 2003
Freshers Fayre
For all new and old St Andrews students, come around to the Liberty Club stall tomorrow at the Fayre. We will be signing people up and explaining everything the society has to offer. We will be (tentatively) on table 197 in the TV Room - that is on the Third floor of the Students' Union Building, coming into the main hallway it is the second door on your left. Joining the club is free, and there are plenty of books and other items you could walk away with. Hope to see you all there.
Drinks Reception an Unquestionable Inebriated Success
The Liberty Club Drinks Reception was an excellent success. Plenty of new and returning students showed up to talk, discuss the Liberty Club, and generally enjoy the free alcohol! I have just posted a write-up with photos here. Brian Monteith MSP gave a riviting welcoming address that put everyone in quite a mood. All said, it was an excellent way to begin what will be a great year.
September 24, 2003
Freshers Week Drinks Reception
For any Libertylog readers in the area, the Liberty Club is holding its annual Freshers' Week Drinks Reception. The event will be held tomorrow, Thursday September 25th, from 6 to 7:45. Martin Passmore has been generous in allowing us use of his gift shop Loot, which is located at 68 Market Street accross from Littlejohn's Restaurant. There will be plenty of interesting members and free drinks, and to top it all of Brian Monteith MSP will be present to give a short welcoming address at seven. Hope to see plenty of people there!
September 20, 2003
For all Libertarian Bloggers
For those of you who haven't yet found it, the Adam Smith Institute in London has just launched a new blog. The Adam Smith Institute is Britain's leading free-market think tank and was founded by two St Andrews graduates, Eamonn Butler and Madsen Pirie. Both Eamonn and Madsen will be visiting the Liberty Club this year, Eamonn on October 6th for our first lecture, and Madsen on December 8th for our annual Christmas Dinner. This blog will offer a great new libertarian forum as well as another great way for students such as me to avoid studying.
September 18, 2003
Taking Children Seriously
I have just arranged for Sarah Fitz-Claridge of Taking Children Seriously to visit and give a talk on February 16th, 2004, as part of the Liberty Club's weekly Lecture Series. Taking Children Seriously is difficult to explain in a sentence, though what I get from it is that children ought to be raised with more rights and parents should not take a controlling role. I strongly recommend all libertarians check the site out. This should be an excellent event and I am eagerly looking forward to it.
September 17, 2003
And the finger pointing begins
Its looking less and less likely that the WTO will achieve its goal of complete world trade by 2005; all to the fault of, well, depends who you ask. It seems the EU likes to point the finger at the States, the States points right back in their faces, and the poor throughout the world suffer. What the US and many others need to realize is free trade need not to be free on both sides in order to benefit. If the US unilaterally cuts subsidies and tariffs on agricultural and other products, some domestic producers may suffer, but the economy as a whole will benefit from reduced taxation and cheaper resources. Unfortunately neither the EU nor the US sees the gains to be made in such policy, and the biggest losers continue to be globalisation and the third world.
September 03, 2003
They almost got it right
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been thinking hard about how to prevent future blackouts in North America. Pat Wood, the chairman of FERC, approached Congress today and told them there needs to be "financial incentives" for power companies to invest more in the power grid. While such a statement is quite sound, he's not as correct as to where to find these incentives. According to Wood, Congress must supply these incentives. Incentives must be supplied by a reduction in the accelerated depreciation and, of all things, the use of eminent domain. Because we all know the easiest way for government to accomplish anything is theft.
August 31, 2003
On a trivial note
Born and bred in New Hampshire, I have quite an attachment to the sport of skiing. I grew up competing on the junior New England racing circuit, and now I try to get in as much time on the slopes as my schedule will allow. Ever since arriving in not-too-snowy Scotland, I have developed quite a severe addiction to ski flicks. As my past roommate can attest, hours of allocated “study” time succumbed to clips of big mountain skiing and park tricks (a rather poor but free example available here and here). For these reasons, I naturally took offense when my left-wing hippie-type older brother bashed ski flicks in favour of the snowboard versions. Specifics on the following debate are of no special importance, only the one following quote. My brother pointed out that, “pro skiers may go bigger/faster/higher than snowboarders, but it is only because [they are competing with] snowboarders.” Well, I had to agree. After decades of little development, there has been an amazing advance in the skill of professional free skiers in the past ten years. For ages, extreme skiers were the people to emulate for extreme winter sports. Styles and skills grew only at the pace of new equipment. It wasn’t until snowboarders rushed onto the scene that the ability and technicality of professional free skiing exploded. Pros are pushing the boundaries like never before, keeping up pace with a larger and more competitive market. So the question is, if I can get my brother to agree competition is helping the snow sports, can I convince him to cut his hair?
August 30, 2003
Capitalism is good science
A University of Massachusetts professor is fighting an uphill battle to produce high quality marijuana for research purposes. The DEA permits only one producer of research grade marijuana, the University of Mississippi. Professor Lyle Craker, after working with medicinal plants for more than 30 years, is determined he can produce a higher quality product. “When you have a complete monopoly you have no incentive to improve the material” Craker commented on the Mississippi program. “In science there needs to be friendly competition in order to push the frontiers. It’s the capitalist system.” Craker, whose proposal is completely privately funded, plans to produce the plants to sell to federally approved scientists. Unfortunately for Craker, good sense rarely fits into drug prohibition. Former DEA chief Asa Hitchinson has been quoted as long as the Mississippi “continues to meet the nation’s need for research-grade marijuana while maintaining the highest level of safeguards against diversion” the, based on US and international law, it “remain the sole domestic producer.”
August 27, 2003
Common Sense on the Common Agricultural Policy
The International Food Policy Research Institute has released a report on the biggest losers in farm subsidies: the third world. This will come as little surprise to free marketeers, though the figures are surprising. The third world, which exports $20 billion in agricultural products, would probably export $60 billion in the absent of the farm subsidies prevalent in the EU, America, Canada, and Japan. Third world farmers directly lose $24 billion annually in lost sales. Its a wonder how people can be in favour of helping developing countries and support farm subsidies.
August 18, 2003
Liberty Club events
Now that Alex has moved on to bigger and better things, I would like to thank him for all the hard work he has put into the Liberty Club. I think all of the club's members will agree that the quantity and quality of events offered by the Liberty Club has been exceptional, and that none of this could have happened without Alex's dedication and commitment to the club. As the new President, I can finally appreciate the effort it takes to run a club of such size.
As Alex mentioned in the previous article, the Liberty Club has a great committee full of active and interested members. I have recently put the preliminary events programme for this year on the Liberty Club's website. Liberty Club events are free and open to all students, staff, and members of the public. Our year kicks off with our Freshers' Week Drinks Reception from 6:00pm to 7:45pm in the gift shop Loot, 68 Market Street, across from Littlejohn's. This will be the Club's third running of the event, my second time attending it, and hopefully my first time remembering it! Then again, with free drinks, not even I can justify responsibility. Hope to see lots of people there.
August 10, 2003
Liberty Club: The Next Generation
One of the last year's first years described the Liberty Club as a "cult of personally" based, er, around me. To hold such a view is to misunderstand the Liberty Club's origins and its purpose. It is certainly true that, to some extent, I was the most visible Liberty Clubber last year, taking a very public stage at times, but the Liberty Club was - and always has been - much more than me.
The Club came about because of Marian Tupy. In my first year, in February 2000, I set up the Political Society along with my friends Tom Jamieson and Hendrik Puschman. We handed out invitations to our first meeting – a talk by Madsen Pirie on "The End of Government" – to the audience of a Debating Society event. One of the audience was a PhD student called Marian Tupy. He got in touch with me, and over the next few months he tried to persuade me to set up a "Freedom Club". Eventually, in February 2001, over coffee in Costa, Marian and I agreed to go ahead with it, and the Political Society become The Liberty Club, now with a libertarian purpose. For the first year and a half of the Liberty Club Marian and I were jointly in charge, and he was as much the front man as I was. He sorted out the fundraising, and I looked after getting speakers. A year and a half later, he left St Andrews, and I missed both his advice and his friendship very much. Thanks to modern technology, we are, however, still in contact regularly.
Continue reading "Liberty Club: The Next Generation"I want to cry
I actually want to break down into tears. Not because of any personal problems, but because of the fundamental lack of freedom afforded to normal people in this country, and in Scotland in particular. I could be referring to the Government's insistence upon shoveling Euro notes and coins down our throats, and this time using taxpayers' money to fund a propaganda 'roadshow'; or perhaps I could be talking about the latest Scottish Parliament building price-hike, now up another £40M to somewhere in the region of 375 million, for a project initially projected to cost fifty. Actually I'm not referring to either of these travesties, but rather to a far more mundane, yet strangely exemplary issue: that of public health.
Continue reading "I want to cry"August 09, 2003
Like Che?
The image comes from Bureaucrash.com, a place for students to get resources and information in the fight against statism
August 07, 2003
Keep the cameras out
I agree with Thomas Sowell's article that cameras in the courtroom should not be permitted. Turning justice into a media circus doesn't seem all that good to me.
August 05, 2003
New term: "Social Thatcherist"
Social Thatcherists are libertarians who see themselves as part of the conservative or right-wing movement. They want to push forward the Thatcher agenda of free-markets, free-trade and strong defence, but they also want the government to promote social freedoms too.