History is replete with famous intellectual battles. In the natural sciences, these have usually led to decisive victories, with good science ousting bad. There are few Ptolemaic astronomers left, or believers in the phlogiston theory of combustion. In the social sciences, the situation is different. There have been famous battles galore, but no decisive victories. … Continue reading Economists clash on shifting sands

The official view is that Russia is an outstandingly successful economy temporarily derailed by a financial shock of foreign origin. Its annual economic growth in real terms averaged 7 per cent in the years during which Vladimir Putin was president (2000-08), annual real wages rose by almost 15 per cent, the federal budget was continually … Continue reading Crisis-hit Russia must scale down its ambition

The first question to ask about a political system is: what are the checks on the uncontrolled exercise of executive power? Britain does not have a written constitution with a formal division of powers, but the traditional answer would have been parliament, which, by successfully asserting the right to authorise spending, was able to check … Continue reading Why a weak government would mean better rule

Review of Against the Flow by Samuel Brittan Atlantic Books, £19.99 Samuel Brittan has an unmistakable "voice". In political philosophy, he is an extreme individualist: it is individuals, not groups, who "feel, exult, despair and rejoice". A private person, intensely protective of his habits, he despises and fears crowds and manifestations of tribal passion. In … Continue reading Book Review: A rational sceptic who is always his own man

Throughout history there have been governments without central banks. But until the European Central Bank was set up, there have never been central banks without governments. Central banks are modern inventions: governments are very ancient. The logical connection between money and power is potentially contradictory. For trade to take place the value of money needs … Continue reading The politics of euro economics

Conspicuously missing from the coming British general election will be a debate about the size of the state. An uneasy consensus rules that the present scope of activities is about right. The government spends or dispenses 40 per cent of the national income. That is quite a bit more than in 1960 but a lot … Continue reading The case for a smaller state revisited

With the west's humanitarian concern now focused on Russia's assault on Grozny, it is a good moment to look back on Kosovo, not least because the renewal of the Chechen war is a direct consequence of the Kosovan operation. It showed Russia the "western, civilised" way of waging this type of war, and it tilted … Continue reading Nato’s deadly legacy from Kosovo

Ten months after the end of the Kosovan war sufficient time has elapsed and information accumulated to draw up a tentative historical balance sheet. I say 'historical', because what has been done cannot be undone. We must live with the consequences, and do our best in the new situation. This does not mean, though, that … Continue reading Kosovo: The balance sheet

A hundred years ago all the main countries of the world adhered to a fixed-exchange rate system known as the gold standard. Their domestic currencies were freely convertible into specified amounts of gold; they maintained fixed proportions between the quantity of money in circulation and the gold reserves of their central banks. An ounce of … Continue reading The First 100 Years: A policy that crippled: The Gold Standard debate

Review of Capitalism with a Human Face by Samuel Brittan Published by Edward Elgar, £49.95 This collection of essays by the UK's leading financial journalist ranges widely, from studies in utilitarian ethics to technical macroeconomics. Samuel Brittan is as much at home with John Rawls as he is with Milton Friedman. He brings to them … Continue reading Book Review: Economics as part of the human condition