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American Federalism: Lessons for Britain
Professor Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago recently gave a brilliant lecture on the lessons of American federalism for Britain and the EU. It can be found at the New Frontiers Foundation web site. (PDF)
Human Rights
Should 'human rights' laws be repealed? More
Civitas response to the Government consultation document on the proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights. Read on
Home Office crime targets
Can Home Office reports of progress towards policy targets be trusted? More
A law against religious hatred?
Mr Blunkett's proposed law against religious hatred would encourage religious extremism by protecting religious leaders from legitimate criticism. More
Mr Blair's immigration speech was 'outright misleading'
The Prime Minister's speech to the Confederation of British Industry on 27th April 2004 was his first major speech on immigration. He boiled down the case for encouraging mass immigration to the UK to 'four facts'. According to a new report by Anthony Browne for Civitas, all the facts are either outright misleading, or at best highly contentious. More (PDF)
NHS Reform - Lessons From America?
Professor Chris Ham of the Dept of Health argues that we can learn from American experience of health maintenance organisations. Read on (PDF)
Sir Ian Blair on Police Reform
Sir Ian Blair, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, advocates police reform. Read on
Human Accomplishment - Book Review
In Human Accomplishment Charles Murray sets out to describe the main human achievements from 800 BC to 1950 in music, literature and the visual arts, as well as medicine and the physical sciences. He also tries to identify the cultural institutions, beliefs and practices that give rise to outstanding achievements. Read on
NICE four years on
NICE was set up to promote faster access to new technologies, to eradicate geographical variation in treatment, and to encourage the efficient use of NHS resources. Using data from the Department of Health, this report examines whether the advice of the Government's rationing and equality body is being followed. More
NHS: Is the Extra Money Working?
The Government’s NHS Plan of July 2000 acknowledged that the NHS had been 'left with insufficient capacity to provide the services the public expect’, and pledged extra cash. Has the money made a difference? There is real concern, among healthcare professionals and patients' groups, that much of the increased expenditure is having little impact. More
Why is Crime Falling?
According to the latest British Crime Survey, crime has fallen since the mid-90s. Why? Read David Green's analysis online in the Observer Comment Extra
Asylum and the Human Rights Act?
Britain should repeal the Human Rights Act in order to regain control of its own borders, according to Myles Harris' hard-hitting new study of our immigration crisis. Based on his own observations of the asylum appeals tribunals in the Greater London area, Tomorrow is Another Country shows how lax our procedures really are, allowing obviously untruthful claimants and unscrupulous people-traffickers to take advantage of the humanitarianism of the British people. More
Experiments in Living
For the best part of thirty years we have been conducting a vast experiment with the family, and now the results are in: the decline of the two-parent, married-couple family has resulted in poverty, ill-health, educational failure, unhappiness, anti-social behaviour, isolation and social exclusion for thousands of women, men and children. Read on
Private education for all?
State education often fails the most disadvantaged members of society. Is it possible to run an independent charitable school, accepting no funding from the state, in such a way as to bring the fees within the reach of working people? A feasibility study found that it can be done. We have now set up a company which has opened a school in London. New Model School
The Lone Parent Trap
There is a conundrum at the heart of welfare policy in Britain. The government and most people declare support for stable family relationships; they also recognize that two-parent families provide the best life chances for children and the best chance to avoid long-term dependence on state welfare. Yet the government's attempt to reduce the poverty of lone parents and children through cash awards and work incentives actually discourages low-earning parents from forming committed two-parent families. More (PDF file)
The best way to create racial harmony?
The traditional liberal ideal was stated clearly in Martin Luther King's famous 'I Have a Dream' speech, delivered in August 1963 in Washington, DC:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character."
In 2002 the Commission for Racial Equality celebrated 25 years of existence. Does it improve race relations or does it heighten racial tension by seeking preferential treatment on racial grounds? Read on
Should Cannabis be Legal?
Norman Dennis explains the history of drug use and alcoholism. Read on
Is There a Culture War?
Most of us are keen to preserve our environmental heritage and our cultural heritage but our intellectual heritage has been held in low esteem for much of the period since the Second World War by an adversarial elite which has dominated the intellectual life of the country. George Orwell, writing in the 1940s summed it up when he said that "almost any English intellectual would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during 'God Save the King' than of stealing from a poor box". More
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