Everyone objects to slavery. Employment should be voluntary. This liberal attitude towards labour does not extend to capital. A recent … Continue reading “Nationalisation misallocates capital – for the same reason that slavery misallocates labour”

The EU’s second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) came into force earlier this month. According to the European … Continue reading “Statutory regulation vs private regulation”

I have a friend in New Zealand, whose real name isn’t Tim, and who is unusually witty. This gives Tim … Continue reading “Standard socialist fallacies #2: “Ability is power””

On 1 December, I participated in a panel discussion at the Indian Embassy. Is there a third way between socialism … Continue reading “Standard socialist fallacies #1: “Socialism is good for the environment””

Last week, I spoke on Sky News about the cap on public sector pay rises. The Guardian columnist Owen Jones … Continue reading “Is Owen Jones right that taxation is theft?”

The health system of my native New Zealand is much like Britain’s NHS: funded from general taxation, free at the … Continue reading “There’s no free lunch – and no free doctor’s appointment either”

George Osborne was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 until July 2016. Now he is, among other things, editor of … Continue reading “George Osborne does not have a clue what a ‘free market’ is”

Today is the Adam Smith Institute’s tax freedom day, the symbolic day you stop working just to pay taxes and … Continue reading “Solidarity does not require taxation”

Myth busting is a risky business. If the myth you try to bust is in fact an important truth, you … Continue reading “Sorry, Ha-Joon Chang, but tax really IS a burden”