** Sunday 24th May 2020 View this email in your browser ([link removed])
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** Welcome to the IEA's Weekend Newsletter!
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* Dive, Survive or Thrive
* From dear life to devolution
* Locked down - and live!
* You’re invited!

TALKING POINT: Dive, Survive or Thrive
By the IEA’s Academic and Research Director, Professor Syed Kamall

While the current Covid-19 pandemic lockdown has brought uncertainty to our lives, it also forces us to consider how we respond to disruption.

Writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb believes there are three responses to disorder: You can be fragile, robust or ‘anti-fragile’ i.e. seize the opportunity. I tend to think of this as a dive, survive or thrive.

At the IEA, we have re-imagined the way we communicate our research and ideas, launching a seven-days-a-week schedule of video and audio programming to provide a classical liberal free market perspective on a wide range of fascinating topics.

These include our ‘Academic Worldwide Webinar’ series, where each Wednesday at 1pm (UK time) we hear from an academic speaker about his or her current research and how it might relate to the pandemic or lockdown.

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This week I spoke to million-selling author Matt Ridley about his forthcoming book 'How Innovation Works'. You can catch up here ([link removed]) .

And former MEP Dan Hannan - founder of the Initiative for Free Trade - joined me to discuss poet, polemicist and statesman John Milton, which you can watch here ([link removed]) .

This discussion forms part of a new series based on Eamonn Butler’s IEA book School of Thought -101 Great Liberal Thinkers. Each week I interview classical liberals about their chosen great liberal thinker.

Past episodes for both series can be found on the IEALondon YouTube channel here ([link removed]) or on Podbean here ([link removed]) .

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And whilst our immediate focus is on digital communication, we are still preparing new books and papers for when we can once again print and publish them.

In the meantime, we have launched a series of digital briefing papers which discuss current lockdown-related issues such as remote working, the history and economics of pandemics, civil liberties, epidemiology and economics.

Look out for forthcoming papers on the state of welfare, the impact on the banking system, monetary policy and inflation, and social insurance. All our publications can be found here ([link removed]) .

We hope you’ll agree that the IEA has become positively ‘anti-fragile’ as we continue to be the leading forum for classical liberal free market ideas.

From dear life to devolution...

This week, IEA staff tackled a range of thorny issues brought on by the current pandemic.

Putting a price on human life… IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop gave a fascinating presentation on the economic value of human life and whether, considering the economic trade-offs, the lockdown is justified. You can catch up on our YouTube channel here ([link removed]) .

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This was also the subject of IEA Director General Mark Littlewood’s biweekly column for The Times ([link removed]) . Mark argued that while putting a value on life seems wrong, it’s the only way out of this crisis.

Break up of the union… The nations of the United Kingdom have diverged in their routes to tackle coronavirus. But does this spell the end of the union?

To discuss this and the future of devolution, Mark was joined by the SNP’s Angus MacNeil MP, Conservative MP Andrew Bowie, and Professor Philip Booth, Senior Academic Fellow at the IEA and author of ‘Federal Britain: The case for decentralisation’ to discuss whether the current devolution settlement is fit for purpose.

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Catch up on this very lively debate here ([link removed]) .

Philip also runs the blog at www.catholicsocialthought.org.uk. This week's post is on the Church, property rights and the environment, which you can read here ([link removed]) . You can also follow on Twitter here ([link removed]) .

To clap or not to clap? Dr Kristian Niemietz, the IEA’s Head of Political Economy and Christopher Snowdon, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics, acted as a “tag team” in a talk for the Oxford University Conservative Association this week - you can watch here ([link removed]) .

Kristian spoke about how even though the pandemic has strengthened the ‘NHS cult’, it has also led to a greater interest in international comparisons and alternative models of healthcare provision, which is something economic liberals should capitalise on.

Chris spoke about the failures of Public Health organisations, both domestically and internationally.

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Security at any cost? The age-old - but highly pertinent - question of freedom vs security was the subject of an IEA webinar with Grover Norquist, Founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform. The webinar is now available on here ([link removed]) .

Locked down...and live

On Wednesday, the IEA staged its third Live with Littlewood programme.

Mark hosted another stellar line-up of journalists, economists and think tankers, including Wag TV Managing Director Martin Durkin, Andrew Lilico, Chairman and Executive Director of Europe Economics and Guido Fawkes’ Paul Staines.

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They discussed easing the lockdown, reopening schools and searched for some signs of optimism in the current crisis. Did they find any? Catch up here ([link removed]) .

Mark also hosted this week’s edition of The Definite Article, focusing on an article in the Observer which gave the false impression that a number of think tanks - including the IEA - had staged an ideological volte-face on public spending. The livestream gave those quoted in the Observer article the opportunity to set the record straight. You can watch it here ([link removed]) .

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Monday to Saturday, IEA Da ([link removed]) ily ([link removed]) brings you the key stories of the day – plus the latest on all our online activities and recommendations on must-reads, must-listens and more.

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If you haven't yet subscribed, click here ([link removed]) .


** You're Invited
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Views from the continent… This coming Tuesday 26th May, from 5-6pm, the IEA will be hosting a private webinar on “The economic response to COVID-19 – A perspective from across Europe”.

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Leading think tank heads from Germany, Italy and Greece will join us to analyse their governments’ economic response to the pandemic and provide an assessment on the looming economic crisis.

Panellists include Director of Prometheus Institut Clemens Schneider, Director General of Instituto Bruno Leoni Alberto Mingardi and President of KEFiM Alexander Skouras.

If you would like to attend this webinar, please RSVP here ([link removed]) .

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Bureaucrats or markets…? Dr Christian Sandstrom and Dr Karl Wennberg will be joining us to discuss their new book, 'Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?' on Wednesday, 27th May at 1pm. If you would like to attend this webinar, please RSVP here. ([link removed])

Cross-Contamination… On Thursday 28th May at 1pm, the IEA will be co-hosting an event with St Mary’s University, Twickenham, on ‘Cross-Contamination: exploring disease in literary narratives and the historical links between disease and globalisation’.

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The event will be chaired by Dr Kim Salmons, Associate Director Academic Strategy at St Mary’s University with Madeline Grant, Assistant Comment Editor at The Telegraph and Dr Stephen Davies, Head of Education at the IEA.

If you would like to attend, please register here ([link removed]) .

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Realigning Britain… The IEA Book Club will also be hosting a webinar with Dr Stephen Davies on Thursday 28th from 6-7pm, to discuss his latest book “The Economics and Politics of Brexit: The Realignment of British Public Life”. ([link removed]) If you would like to attend this webinar, please RSVP here ([link removed]) .


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