Former Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey returned to the IEA this week to reflect on his famous speech, 'The End of the Age of Entitlement'

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This week, the IEA hosted not one but two major public events. These touch on the IEA’s essential role in facilitating important discussions, often ones that are not going on anywhere else in the UK, let alone around the world.

The first event, on Monday evening, was a speech by The Hon. Joe Hockey, a former Australian Treasurer – the equivalent of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Just over a decade ago, Hockey visited the IEA to give a speech about the unsustainability of universal entitlements.

The End of The Age of Entitlement ([link removed]) was, as far as political speeches go, a smash hit. It was judged one of the most important speeches by an Australian in the last 100 years. As an Aussie coming to political maturity at the time, I can attest that the speech was extensively discussed at the time and has been since. Hockey was invited back this week to deliver “A Decade Later” to update his thesis about global challenges, followed by a Q&A led by the IEA’s Mark Littlewood.
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Source: The Sydney Morning Herald ([link removed])

Hockey delivered an impassioned speech about how the fiscal situation has only worsened with government spending, taxing and borrowing more than a decade ago, which has helped fuel skyrocketing inflation. He spoke, in the context of an ageing population, about the need to reform social security spending and the NHS to deliver more financially sustainable outcomes.

“Political leaders are afraid of hard decisions when everything can be bought with borrowed money,” he said. “That sense of entitlement, that you can give people everything they want, is a cancer in our community. And we will all pay a price.”

The speech – well worth a viewing ([link removed]) – was once again covered across the Australian press, including the likes of Sydney Morning Herald ([link removed]) , the Australian Financial Review ([link removed]) , and Sky News Australia ([link removed]) .

If that wasn’t enough, we also hosted a debate asking ‘Does transgender ideology threaten liberal values?’ with Peter Tatchell, Helen Joyce, Freda Wallace and the IEA's Marc Glendening. I had the pleasure – and, at times, challenging role – of chairing the discussion that included individuals putting forward entirely opposing perspectives and responding directly to each other’s remarks. It’s important to note that these sorts of debates on this issue rarely, if ever, happen on this topic. The video already has over 50,000 views and growing on the IEA’s YouTube channel.
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I look forward to the IEA continuing to lead Britain’s debate.

Matthew Lesh

IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications
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** Economic Affairs - Volume 43, Issue 3 ([link removed])
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Economic Affairs is an academic journal published by the IEA and the University of Buckingham, with the collaboration of Universidad de las Hespérides and Universidad Francisco Marroquín. In three editions each year, Economic Affairs publishes some of the latest intellectual developments in liberal scholarship across a range of academic fields.

From attitudes towards capitalism across the world ([link removed]) and the importance of the monetary base ([link removed]) , to Brexit’s impact on employment among Japanese affiliates in the UK ([link removed]) , October’s edition has something for liberals and economists of all stripes.
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The open access articles include:
* Equality of competition: A consistent approach to equality of opportunity in sport ([link removed]) , by Jasper Doomen
* Attitudes towards capitalism in 34 countries on five continents ([link removed]) , by Rainer Zitelmann
* Adam Smith’s moral foundations of self-interest and ethical social order ([link removed]) , by Mikko Arevuo
* Rejoinder ([link removed]) , by Tim Congdon

IEA Latest.
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** The Renters’ Reform Bill won’t solve the housing crisis ([link removed])
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Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz, The Spectator

Unintended consequences… State interventions like banning so-called ‘no-fault evictions’ will only likely result in higher rents. The solution to landlord power is building more homes.
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RIP Nicholas Crafts ([link removed])

Editorial and Research Fellow Len Shackleton, IEA Blog

Professor Nick Crafts was a distinguished economic historian, former member of both the Economic Affairs Editorial Board and the IEA’s Academic Advisory Council.
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Can Latin America Overcome Socialism | IEA Podcast ([link removed])

Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh & Gonzalo Schwartz and Axel Kaiser IEA YouTube

A consensus-busting blueprint?… Argentina is the archetype of political and economic failure. But has libertarian presidential candidate Javier Milei finally found a way to break it?
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Cap on bank bonuses to be scrapped ([link removed])

Economics Fellow Julian Jessop, The Times, The Daily Mail ([link removed]) & Business Matters ([link removed])

A clumsy rule… Capping bankers’ bonuses might have felt good after the 2008 financial crisis but, in reality, it hurt Britain’s competitiveness, meant bankers had higher fixed salaries and increased risk in financial institutions.
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Niemietz Reacts: Do Workers Get Paid Fairly Under Capitalism? ([link removed])

Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz, IEA YouTube

Back to basics… In the inaugural episode of Niemietz Reacts, Kristian debunks common myths, including the idea that markets supress workers’ wages.
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Unaccountable regulators must not be allowed to strangle innovation and investment ([link removed])

Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh, IEA Blog & CapX ([link removed])

Dangerous precedents… The government’s proposals for new powers to regulate big tech give bureaucrats too much power with too little accountability.
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YIMBYism: A Primer ([link removed])

Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz, IEA Blog

A rising tide… The housing crisis has given rise to a burgeoning movement of YIMBYs. But what exactly does it mean? Read Part Two here ([link removed]) and Part Three here ([link removed]) .

While the YIMBY movement might be new, policy wonks have been warning for decades about the housing crisis. Kristian also wrote for CapX ([link removed]) this week to review No Room! No Room! ([link removed]) , a paper published by the IEA in 1988 which warned about the costs of Britain’s planning system.
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How has the PM's AI speech gone down? ([link removed])

Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh, Sky News & Guido Fawkes ([link removed])

Rishi’s red pill… In response to the PM’s AI speech, Matthew warns that AI overregulation could risk losing out on its unimaginable problem-solving capacity.
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Nearly 120,000 working days lost to industrial disputes in August, stats show ([link removed])

Editorial and Research Fellow Len Shackleton, The Daily Express

Par for the course… The ONS’s delayed and methodologically ‘experimental’ employment data showed an economy in neither great nor terrible shape.
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Don’t get squishy on free speech ([link removed])

Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths, The Critic

A fatal conceit… Those who think that government censorship will only ever be targeted at their enemies are in for a shock.

IEA Insider.


** IEA Book Club event with Marian L Tupy ([link removed])
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The IEA Book Club will host Marian Tupy on his latest book, “Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet”. Tupy is the editor of HumanProgress.org and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity.

Date: Thursday, 2nd November

Time: 12.00 – 14.00

Location: 2 Lord North Street, SW1P 3LB

RSVP: There are a limited number of spaces available for non-members, please get in touch at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=IEA%20Book%20Club%20Event%20with%20Marian%20L%20Tupy&body=Hello%2C%20I%20want%20to%20attend%20the%20IEA%20Book%20Club%20Event%20with%20Marian%20L%20Tupy.%20Is%20there%20a%20space%20available%3F) to apply.


** IEA staff take Tblisi
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From Georgia with love… Christopher Snowdon spoke at last week’s Students for Liberty regional conference in Tblisi about paternalism and the results of the Nanny State Index 2023 ([link removed]) .
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** Premier: How Sweden quite smoking ([link removed])
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Snus-ed out… We Are Innovation is hosting the premier of a new documentary explaining how Sweden reached the lowest smoking rate and lung cancer death rates in Europe by embracing alternative nicotine products.

Date: Wednesday, 15th November

Time: 18.30 – 21.30

Location: 8 John Adam Street London WC2N 6EZ

RSVP: Click here to reserve your place. ([link removed])
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