TALKING POINT: The battles continues – says the IEA's Head of Political Economy, Dr Kristian Niemietz
If you are looking for a little respite from all things Corona, maybe I can be of help. I have been continuing my mini-crusade against socialism.
Although 14 months have passed since the publication of my book “Socialism – The Failed Idea That Never Dies”, it is one of those books that are never truly finished, because new ideas for building on it keep popping up.
I have recorded a webinar-interview with Prof Vlad Tarko from the University of Arizona, who is teaching the course “Socialism and Capitalism” at the Department of Political Economy and Moral Science. Prof Tarko is using this webinar recording as part of his course, both as instruction material, and as a basis for discussions with his students. Given that university campuses have played a key role in the socialism revival, I am pleased that IEA materials on this subject are now making inroads into academia. You can watch the recording here.
I have also been a guest on the "Godless Spellchecker" podcast a while back, on the same topic. My episode has now been released. You can listen to it here.
Given recent political developments in the UK and the US, it would be tempting to assume that the flirtation with socialism is now coming to an end. But as I explain in my latest article for CapX, this would be premature. The socialist movement is becoming more detached from frontline politics, but it is not going anywhere. It is just going to continue in a different form.
Now, back to Coronavirus (sorry!).
It is far too early to say which healthcare systems are coping best with the Coronavirus, and which ones are coping worst. There are just too many different factors to disentangle, which is why it will take months, if not years, before we can come to a verdict.
That said: as I explain in my latest article in the Telegraph, based on what little we do know to date, I would be surprised if the NHS came out as a top performer.
One healthcare system in particular has earned praise from various quarters for its handling of the crisis so far: the German system. Unfortunately, though, media coverage of that system has been full of half-truths and misunderstandings. In my IEA podcast with my colleague Emma Revell, I address some of them.
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Covid-learnings
One very small upside of this crisis is that when we finally reach the light at the end of this dark tunnel, we will have in our hands vast amounts of data, argues the IEA’s Director General Mark Littlewood in his latest biweekly column for The Times.
This “should be able to help us to run our public institutions, such as the NHS, better in future – not simply to deal with a second wave or a new pandemic, but more generally.”
In the first of our new livestream series, The Definite Article, Mark joined IEA Media Manager Emily Carver to discuss his column, taking questions live from our online audience, on everything from NHS reform to global trade.
You can watch The Definite Article on our YouTube channel – and be sure to subscribe to keep up to date with all our last video content.
Our next episode tomorrow, Monday, will be with Prof Philip Booth on his latest article for The Telegraph, 'Central planning has failed miserably in this pandemic. The last thing we need is more of it'. Watch live, at 6pm, here.
IEA Chief Operating Officer Andy Mayer also discussed the NHS in a new article for the IEA blog.
Andy questioned whether the Government’s main narrative line of ‘protecting the NHS’ is actually good for NHS staff, let alone the patients.
You can read ‘NHS workers should be wary of NHS populism’ here.
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Should China pay?
Elsewhere, questions have been raised over the conduct of the Chinese government in the weeks after the Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.
In our latest #IEAsolation vidcast, ‘Covid-19: Should China pay the price?’, we ask whether China’s mishandling of the outbreak warrants legal redress and financial compensation.
Emily was joined by Sam Armstrong of the Henry Jackson Society, who co-authored the report ‘Coronavirus Compensation?’, and the IEA’s Dr Steve Davies for a compelling discussion on China’s mishandling of the Wuhan virus, the cover-up and the case for compensation.
You can watch #IEAsolation on our YouTube channel – and be sure to subscribe here.
School of Thought
Also on our YouTube channel, Academic and Research Director Syed Kamall hosted the first episode of School of Thought, our new video series on classical liberalism.
His first guest was Dr Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute, and author of the IEA book ‘School of Thought: 101 Great Liberal Thinkers’.
Each week, Syed will discuss classical liberalism’s role in bringing the modern world into existence, profiling the lives and ideas of some of the leading thinkers on individual liberty - and examining their modern-day relevance.
Head to our YouTube channel to watch.
And in the third of our ‘Zeroing In: Free market approaches to the 2050 target’ series, Digital Manager Darren Grimes speaks to Dr Jamie Whyte, classical-liberal academic and author of Crimes Against Logic. They discussed whether Net Zero is achievable, the case for a carbon tax, and what coronavirus means for the climate change debate. You can catch up here.
Universal view?
This week, over 100 opposition MPs called for the introduction of a Universal Basic Income.
The IEA’s Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon argued on talkRadio that there may well be a case for introducing a UBI – if it simplifies the benefits system. But to add UBI to all other types of spending would be simply unaffordable.
Don’t ban the boomers... When discussing the economic impact of the lockdown, attention has focused on younger groups.
But as IEA Editorial and Research Fellow Len Shackleton argues on the IEA blog, older people make a disproportionate contribution in a number of sectors – and policy-makers would be wise to consider this when thinking about continuing the blanket ban on over-70s leaving the home.
Extra, extra… Elsewhere, IEA Head of Communications Emma Revell took part in the Sky News Daily podcast, and Media Manager Emily Carver appeared on Dan Wootton’s political panel on talkRadio.
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Webinars of the week
This week, the IEA held another Worldwide Webinar, this time on the impact of coronavirus on populism and democracy with Karin Svanborg-Sjövall. It was a fascinating discussion, which you can catch up on here.
Next week, the IEA will be hosting another two webinars.
On Tuesday, 28th April, from 1-2pm, we’ll be hearing from The Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Sam Bowman, Director of Competition Policy at the International Center for Law and Economics. They will be discussing "The short and medium term economic damage from Coronavirus", assessing the impact the lockdown is having on the economy and productivity and looking ahead at how the UK can bounce back after restrictions are eased.
And on Wednesday, 29th April, from 1-2pm, Professor Philip Booth, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences at St Mary’s University and IEA Senior Academic Fellow, will be discussing "Globalisation and Coronavirus – throwing out the baby with the bathwater".
Places are limited and will be offered on a first come first served basis. If you would like to join us for one of these online webinars please register here and here.
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Darren departs
Finally, a thanks from all at the IEA to our Digital Manager Darren Grimes, who’s moving on to explore pastures new.
Darren has made a terrific impact in his two years at the IEA – transforming our approach to social media, making a raft of fascinating films (available here, or at iealondon on YouTube) and presenting and producing scores of thought-provoking podcasts (all of which are available here, or on PodBean, Apple Podcasts or Spotify).
We wish Darren all the very best in the future.
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