TALKING POINT
By the IEA’s Director General, Mark Littlewood
The week got off to a flying start, albeit a day late following the Spring Bank Holiday.
A new IEA briefing paper, authored by IEA Head of Education Dr Stephen Davies and released on Tuesday, suggested the welfare state in its current form will be another casualty of the crisis. Some may rally round the idea of a Universal Basic Income but, as the briefing paper points out, there are strong objections to the idea from all corners – and several rival ideas.
Steve himself once succumbed to the notion of a UBI. But just as the seduced may experience subsequent regrets and second thoughts, so has he come to “doubt his previous position”.
On Thursday, Steve and I sat down – many miles apart – to discuss his new book, The Economics and Politics of Brexit. I would say more but, to misquote Steve, “you’ll need to buy the book to get the full flavour”. Alternatively, you could watch the video here.
Squeezed between the Davies double bill was our fourth Live with Littlewood, our weekly live webinar featuring a stellar line-up of free marketeers.
I was first joined by journalist and presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer, who shared sincere views on Dominic Cummings and doorstepping. Douglas Carswell joined in to frame an important point that underlined the current absurdity: “Your mother can’t come into your house but your cleaner can. No one has said what happens if you appoint your mother to be your cleaner. We need a classical liberal approach: tell the people the risks, encourage them to do the right thing... but recognise they don’t need school-mastering.”
Other star guests included Claire Fox, Kate Andrews, Matt Kilcoyne, Adam Bartha and Darren Grimes. And to give a view from across Nordsjön from liberal Sweden was Karin Svanborg-Svojall of Timbro. Catch up here, and we’ll be in touch again soon about Wednesday’s show.
The week ahead promises to be no less varied nor thought-provoking, such is the nature of our daily content.
On Monday, in our Definite Article live webinar, I’ll be joining the IEA's Emily Carver to make the case for free trade deals as a vital (and underrated) way of supercharging the economy post-lockdown. Tune in at 6pm.
On Friday, former Brexit Minister Steve Baker MP and the IEA’s Senior Academic Fellow Professor Philip Booth will share their views on how we finance the government’s huge spending.
Speaking of which, our Editorial and Research Fellow Professor Len Shackleton has already commented on the consequences of the furlough scheme. It makes for sobering reading...
Lastly, cause for quiet celebration here at the IEA as we hit another YouTube milestone. If you’re not yet among our 6,000 subscribers (and counting), click here. Also – subscribe to our IEA Daily bulletin to ensure you never miss a video, blog, article, podcast or briefing.
Over and out.
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A UBI-quitous idea?
As Mark mentions above, this week we released Dr Stephen Davies’ briefing paper: C-19: Redefining the state of welfare?
Steve points out that previous major crises – such as wars and pandemics – have led to radical reconstruction of the welfare system. And it’s very likely that the current pandemic will also facilitate a major public debate on the issue.
Steve says one idea that’s bound to be put forward – and already has a ‘head start’ – is that of a Universal Basic Income.
Although a UBI arguably does away with bureaucracy and supports individual autonomy, objections to it are about far more than just economics.
You can read Steve’s briefing paper here, or his article for CapX can be found here. Or, to hear from the horse’s mouth, watch our video here.
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Artificially Intrusive?
The European Commission recently published a “White Paper On Artificial Intelligence”. In a new briefing paper for EPiCENTER, Victoria Hewson, the IEA’s Head of Regulatory Affairs, takes a closer look at the plans.
In her report, Victoria questions whether the requirements set out for the future regulatory framework are ‘excessively prescriptive’ and argues that, while the aspiration of supporting development and adoption of AI in Europe is welcome, it’s based on some questionable assumptions and in places veers dangerously towards protectionism.
You can read the full report here.
Victoria also expressed concerns over the UK government’s coronavirus tracking app – both from a practical and civil liberties point of view. She told The Telegraph that, while the app’s terms say the data will only be used to fight Covid-19, “we know for example security services will sometimes claim overriding powers to access data, or that government systems sometimes have technical and security problems.”
She added: “Tax data is shared with the Home Office for processing immigration applications, so we know a lot of data sharing within government goes on.”
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Steer clear...
Elsewhere, it was reported that the government is set to take stakes in key industries under ‘Project Birch’ plans.
This would mark a radical change of approach for the government, which has so far relied on grants and loans to support companies and jobs.
IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop appeared on Sky News and Channel 4 News, taking the view that the government's role is to provide vital public services and to protect national security. “It's not,” he said, “to be running car businesses or to have equity stakes in them”.
Julian also spoke to Nick Ferrari on LBC to discuss the economy, jobs and the likelihood of a quick recovery after lockdown.
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In case you missed it
Here are three must-see videos on our IEA YouTube Channel:
* IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon moderated a webinar with Dr Jeffrey Miron, Dr H. Westley Clark and Dr Jamie Whyte on Prohibition and the Pandemic.
* Our Academic and Research Director Professor Syed Kamall hosted a webinar on Hayek and the Pandemic Response with Professor Mark Pennington.
*And our School of Thought webinar – which each week profiles the impact of great liberal thinkers – examined the life and work of Immanuel Kant.
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You're Invited
Perils and promise… On Tuesday 2nd June at 6pm, the IEA Book Club will host renowned libertarian scholar Michael Munger, to discuss his forthcoming IEA Book about the sharing economy, “Platforms: Perils and Promise”.
If you would like to attend, you can sign up here. If you would like to ask us any questions, please contact the IEA Book Club at [email protected].
Separation of scientific powers… On 3rd June, from 1-2pm, the IEA will be hosting an academic webinar with Dr Terence Kealey. Dr. Kealey is a professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Buckingham.
Dr Kealey argues that the UK and US handled Covid-19 badly because their public health science is controlled by government. He recommends separating scientific powers, in order to free public health science and government to challenge each other.
If you would like to join us for this important discussion, please register here.
And don’t forget to sign up to our webinar with Steve Baker MP and IEA Senior Academic Fellow Professor Philip Booth, hosted by IEA Director General Mark Littlewood. Footing the bill: How do we finance the government spending surge? takes place this Friday, 5th June, from 1-2pm. Register here.
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