On the subject of poverty porn
We here at the ASI thoroughly support the idea of food banks. Who wouldn’t support the idea of voluntary cooperation to feed the hungry? Even, of a private sector organisation that was able to fill in...
View ArticleThe UK just isn’t as unequal as people seem to think
We’ve often said around here that the national inequality figures overstate the actual amount of inequality that there is in the UK. Yes, there’s very definitely regional inequality in incomes. But...
View ArticleThis On Rock Or Sand book will be a bit of a disappointment
I’ll not argue theology with the Archbishop of York, coming originally as I do from the tran- not con-substantiation side of the argument. But when said Archbish strays over into Adam Smith and...
View ArticleThe amusement of Oxfam’s wealth report
Oxfam is one of those groups jetting off to Davos this week to talk about how to set the world to rights. And they’re doing so by going to sit among the plutocrats and telling everyone that it’s the...
View ArticleTo be serious about inequality for a moment
The Office of National Statistics has just released figures on incomes in the UK. Giving us that interesting little chart above. Do note that that is income of those who are in the tax system. And also...
View ArticleEconomic Nonsense: 6. The rich are growing richer, the poor poorer and the...
Sometimes this is asserted on a world scale, and sometimes claimed to be true within individual countries. Not only is this nonsense; it is also false. The rich have indeed grown richer, and the poor...
View ArticleEconomic Nonsense: 34. Governments have a duty to extend equality in wealth...
Governments in democratic societies are elected to serve their citizens, not to impose some ideological view of what they would prefer society to look like. If they do try to pursue equality in wealth...
View ArticleEconomic Nonsense: 40. Too much wealth is owned by too few people
Underlying the claim is an assumed egalitarianism. How much is “too much” and how few is “too few?” Obviously those making the criticism have some concept in their minds of how they would like to see...
View ArticleEconomic Nonsense: 44. Big business thrives on poor country sweatshops and...
In undeveloped countries people struggle to survive in agricultural economies. Life is characterized by dawn to dusk heavy labour, even for children, and the rewards are meagre. Diet is poor and the...
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Lies, damned lies, and electioneering statistics: wealth is just accumulating...
In my last blog, I lamented the rise of questionable facts in the election campaign, as politicians bid for votes. I used the claim that there is a “tide of privatisation in our NHS” as case study. I...
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