On Milton Friedman's 99th birthday

6720

on-milton-friedmans-99th-birthday

796 years ago...

6581

796-years-ago

No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or deprived of his freehold or of his liberties or free customs, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, nor shall we go upon him, nor shall we send upon him, except by a legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

Magna Carta, issued this day in 1215. Hat-tip to Cato's Roger Pilon.

One small step for Starbucks...

6540

one-small-step-for-starbucks

In most coffee shops these days, you'll find that the small, medium, and large coffee cups all use the same size lid now, whereas even five years ago they used to have different size lids for the different cups. That small change in the geometry of the cups means that somebody can save a little time in setting up the coffee shop, preparing the cups, getting your coffee, and getting out. Millions of little discoveries like that, combined with some very big discoveries, like the electric motor and antibiotics, have made the quality of life for people today dramatically higher than it was 100 years ago.

Paul Romer

Malcolm McAlpine RIP

6493

malcolm-mcalpine-rip

Our friend and supporter Malcolm McAlpine died this week at the age of 93 after a brief illness. Malcolm was President of Sir Robert McAlpine, the construction company which just last month completed the building of the Olympic stadium for the 2012 games. The company is very much a family-run partnership; he was the grandson of the company's founder, Sir Robert, and many other family members are involved.

We came to know Malcolm in the late 1970s as we strived to build up the Adam Smith Institute. A great believer in personal and economic freedom – and in the tendency of governments and regulators to mess things up – he was one of our earliest subscribers. Around 1983, when the Thatcher government looked as if it was running out of ideas, we went to him with a proposal to produce a report on every department of government, outlining precisely what it should do in order to achieve the free-market, liberal vision. It would involve twenty working parties of politicians, civil servants, academics, professionals and journalists. He told us that we were too small and too poorly organised, and he did not believe we could do the project, which we called the Omega Project. But we did it anyway, and Malcolm asked me over to his office to apologise for his lack of faith in us – and handed me a large personal cheque by way of apology.

He continued to give us support and advice through good times and bad, and was particularly supportive of our extensive programme of work with young people, particularly our Next Generation Group, our sixth-form seminar ISOS, and our Young Writer on Liberty prize.

Malcolm was a very straight talker who left you in no doubt when he thought you were doing something wrong, but would be the first to pick up the phone and praise you when you pulled off something significant. He was also surprisingly modest and amazingly energetic, coming to ASI seminars and dinners – and participating actively in them – right up to a few months ago. He was a good friend, and we will miss him.

Kyle, the cute baby in debt

6489

kyle-the-cute-baby-in-debt

Why government doesn't cut spending (even though it should)

6467

why-government-doesnt-cut-spending-even-though-it-should

DC diary

6428

dc-diary

I’m currently in a hotel just outside Washington, DC, en route to a couple of conferences in Dallas. Watching the news here, it’s striking how obsessed Americans seem to be with the Royal Wedding. NBC had a special on it last night, while MSNBC was broadcasting live from Trafalgar Square this mornng. I can’t help wondering if they think the whole of England is still a bit like Brideshead Revisited. Speaking of transatlantic misconceptions, I ordered the ‘English Club Sandwich’ for dinner last night. It was fantastic, and not just because it followed a day of airport and plane food. But, needless to say, I’ve never seen anything like it in England. Why can’t we make decent sandwiches? We did invent them, after all. I guess socialism must be to blame somehow.

***

The Spectator is always a great read, and I’m grateful to their Easter double issue for killing a couple of hours in the air yesterday. Matthew Parris’s column, bemoaning the regulated disappearance of the incandescant lightbulb, struck a particular chord with me. Energy-saving flourescent bulbs just aren’t an adequate replacement. They cast a horrible, cold light and tend to flicker. Yet the state forces us to use them. Anyone know how I can get hold of proper light bulbs?

***

On the other hand, I was astounded by an article by William von Raab arguing that the US should “get tough – really tough – with Mexico” and advocating “the same action toward the [drug] cartels in Mexico as… towards al-Qa’eda in Afghanistan”. What planet is he living on? As I wrote a while back: “Decades of bitter experience have shown that no amount of military might can win a ‘War on Drugs’. Indeed, all such interventions actually achieve is to raise the market price of these substances, and give the cartels an even greater prize to fight over. The human cost of this failure is enormous. Surely it is time to accept that the only sensible solution is to take narcotics out of the hands of gangsters, and legalize, licence and regulate their production and sale.”

***

Finally, the Washington Post reports (hat-tip to the Wall Street Journal) that Liu Zhijun, until recently China’s railways minister, was fired after embezzling tens of millions of dollars and running up $271bn in debt. Journalist Charles Lane concludes, “Rather than demonstrating the advantages of centrally-planned long-term investment, as its foreign admirers sometimes suggested, China’s bullet-train experience shows what can go wrong when an unelected elite, influenced by corrupt opportunists, gives orders that all most follow”. I can’t help wondering whether we’ll be applying that lesson to China as a whole before too long.

The Freedom Forum 2011 - a job well done

6386

the-freedom-forum-2011-a-job-well-done

Madsen Pirie, President of the Adam Smith Institute:

The recently-formed Liberty League scored a major success with its first Freedom Forum in Birmingham. There have been many student libertarian and Hayek societies, some going back many years, even decades. They tend to flourish while their leading lights are at university, then hibernate when the enthusiasts leave.

Spotting this, three student members of TNG, James Lawson, Will Hamilton and Anton Howes, acting entirely on their own initiative, conceived the idea of an umbrella organization to act as a focus for student libertarian societies, and Liberty League was born.

It quickly gained the support of the International Students for Liberty group, and the goodwill and patronage of several like-minded think tanks and personnel. They put in maximum effort to make a success of the first Freedom Forum in Birmingham (aided by generous contributions from the IEA and the Freedom Association), and managed to recruit 85 attendees plus several supporting speakers. The weekend conference was a huge success and has put Liberty League firmly on the map as the focus for student libertarian organizations.

The Liberty Leaguers have already started work on the big annual Libertarian Conference to be held at London's National Liberal Club in late autumn. This is a most welcome addition to the fight for freedom, and congratulations all round are due to James, Will and Anton. Good work, guys!

~

Will Hamilton, co-founder of the Liberty League:

The start of the month (April 1–3) marked the first annual Liberty League Freedom Forum. It was an overwhelming success. One hundred young freedom lovers and 20 speakers converged on Birmingham for three days of lectures, panels and workshops. The aim of the conference was to provide young interested minds with new ideas, as well as to develop their skills, so as to be better able to spread their enthusiasm for liberty.

However, so much more than this was achieved; the atmosphere was unlike any other due to the enthusiasm of the attendees. During the breaks spontaneous circles of chairs emerged. The contagious level of friendliness between the guests naturally flowed into the night. I barely managed an hour’s sleep and with a firm grasp of Birmingham’s 80’s club scene, I can confirm the strong social dynamic.

“Brilliant conference! My head is still ringing with very interesting thoughts and lack of sleep”

For those who chose to catch an early night, the days were just as exciting. We packed in a whole variety of renowned speakers on both civil liberties, as well as talks on the technical aspects of creating and managing Liberty based societies. I was not alone in my enjoyment; 100% of the attendees said that they enjoyed the conference and that they would recommend it to a friend.

“Some of our American brethren (you know who) use the word ‘rockstars’ far too much, but you lot really are.”- Oliver Cooper

If you missed out there is no need to worry though, as Liberty League is hosting a conference in October, and plans for Forum Forum 2012 are in motion!

The Adam Smith tartan

6325

the-adam-smith-tartan

A new tartan has just been unveiled in honour of Adam Smith. Commissioned by the Scottish Economics Society, it has been designed by Dr David Wishart of the University of St Andrews. Its colours and pattern combine the Ancient Smith tartan (dating from 1886) with the Douglas Hunting tartan (pre-1819), thus also honouring the important contribution of Margaret Douglas, his mother, in raising Adam Smith.

The Adam Smith Institute has congratulated the Scottish Economics Society on their initiative, stating that:

“The tartan design is an excellent one that does honour to the memory of Adam Smith and the contribution he made, not only to Scottish thought, but to the world's understanding and the progress of humankind. It is a fitting tribute to one of Scotland's greatest sons.”

It is expected that ties and scarves will be produced in the new Adam Smith tartan for followers and fans of the father of modern economics to wear with pride.

Freedom Week: 11-15 July 2011

6364

freedom-week-11-15-july-2011

FREEDOM WEEK 2011 will take place from 11 to 15 July, at Sidney Sussex College, Cambrige.

Freedom Week – a joint project of the Adam Smith Institute and the Institute of Economic Affairs – is an annual, one-week seminar designed to teach students about classical liberalism and free market economics.

If your application is successful, you will spend five days learning about liberty from some of Britain’s leading thinkers.

You will also have the opportunity to network with fellow students, academics, and think tank representatives - all in a relaxed atmosphere with plenty of free time and nightly social activities.

Freedom Week is entirely free for the students: there is no charge whatsoever for accommodation, food, tuition or materials.

The deadline for applications is May 15th, 2011. However, the earlier you apply, the more chance you have of being accepted.

For more information, click here.

To submit an application, click here.