The Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 is popularly thought of as a period of extreme national introversion, during which Japan closed itself off from the outside world in a feudal state for 250 years and stagnated economically. This is inaccurate. The period of shogun rule was one of sustained economic advance for the Japanese people, albeit at a modest pre-industrial pace. By the time the U.S. Navy’s Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in 1853, Japan was fully comparable to mid-18th century Britain in both technology and living standards, albeit with different capabilities. The greatest credit for that success should go to the innovative reforming shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) who during his rule from 1716 to 1745 reoriented the Japanese economy in a way that has lessons for us today. Continue reading →

Government debts have spiraled in the Covid-19 period and in many cases are the highest since World War II, while annual budget deficits show no sign of reducing. Meanwhile, the movement of the ultra-rich to tax havens and corporate juggling are sucking out tax capacity from the world’s fiscal systems. Global protectionism is increasing, reducing the trade on which tariffs can be paid. Overall, rating the debt of any government above Standard and Poor’s BBB or equivalent is over-optimistic. Universal catastrophic government default may not be imminent but will death-spiral rapidly when it occurs. Continue reading →

The last week’s market turbulence may or may not persist and should not directly be blamed on Kamala Harris’ selection as Democrat candidate for the Presidency and her modest bounce in the polls. Instead, the focus should be on the last two decades’ economic policies, for which Harris, while not responsible, is generally an enthusiast. Huge value has been destroyed in the economy through failing to follow basic truths; markets have been ignoring this destruction, but in the end bubbles burst. Continue reading →

Francis Fukuyama’s 1992 book “The End of History” propounded a Utopian vision in which the fall of Communism had left liberal democracy as the universal global ideology, ending conflict and producing an era of universal prosperity. Thirty years later, we can see the reality more clearly: the intellectual mainsprings of Communism never fell, “liberal democracy” was a myth and the society towards which we are heading is a dystopia, not a Utopia. Continue reading →

The selection of J.D. Vance as Republican Vice-Presidential candidate to Donald Trump raises the question of what economic agenda a successful Trump/Vance ticket might implement. The two have different backgrounds and intellectual histories, yet there are themes common to both men that suggest an economically sound agenda as set out below might play to both men’s strengths and fulfil their goal of Making America Economically Great Again. Continue reading →

The new Keir Starmer Labour government’s energy secretary Ed Miliband, former leader of the party (2010-15) has overruled his officials to ban offshore North Sea energy drilling, sued to stop a coal mine project to which the Tories had given the go-ahead, announced the resumption of new onshore solar and wind projects and promised greater investment in Britain’s attempt to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. By pushing Britain’s climate change mania so vigorously, he will ensure that the disasters to which it will lead will hit Britain first. Continue reading →

France’s cuisine is probably civilization’s finest creation, and its art, music and fashion aren’t bad, either. Yet the French people fall for every leftist scam that is pulled on them, notably in the second round of elections last week, and are far too prone to revere intellectuals who would best be placed in solitary confinement. Economically, this has caused the country to underperform even worse than Britain. It is perhaps worth examining this pathology in more detail. Continue reading →

For 200 years, leftist political economists and low-wage sweatshops have lobbied governments to put in taxes and regulations that lower wage rates, supposedly to “create jobs.” Such interference with the market, by making labor artificially cheap prevents the “creative destruction” that alone produces productivity gains and better living standards. The policy mix that produces high wages and good living standards is often termed “populist” but it is simply aimed against regulation freaks and monopolistic corporate rent-seekers. In every country, governments should work to raise wages and improve their people’s lives through deregulation and proper economic management. Continue reading →

If polls are correct, the British “Conservative” party will suffer a huge defeat on July 4, with Labour winning a large majority and Nigel Farage’s Reform party eating a big share of the previous Tory vote, albeit winning few seats in Parliament. Given the “Conservative” party’s abominable performance in the previous 14 years of government – and to a large extent in the 180 years before that – it will be time for a root-and-branch rethink of right-of-center British politics. Here’s what it should contain. Continue reading →

The United States Supreme Court’s season ends in the next few weeks with a slew of decisions, after a year in which it has been subjected to increasingly vitriolic criticism by a left that feels neglected. In Britain, the “Supreme Court” set up by Tony Blair has been a fount of leftist Establishment wokery and has never established its legitimacy. It is therefore worth defining what the function of a Supreme Court should be in a well-run society and why a well-functioning Supreme Court is needed to preserve that society from ruin. Continue reading →