| From | ASI Bulletin <[email protected]> |
| Subject | ASI Bulletin: 250 Years Later |
| Date | March 18, 2026 8:04 AM |
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IN THIS ASI E-BULLETIN
From Dr Eamonn Butler (and a cast of thousands—well, that’s their IQ at least)
A VERY IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY: The Wealth of Nations at 250
RESEARCH: The sky-high costs of Net Zero for the UK
THE REAL HISTORY OF COMMUNISM: London screening
But first…
The news cupboard is empty of amusement this week. Except that the US government is beginning to shut down because Congress can’t agree a budget, so that’s rather cheering. Nothing can shut down President Trump, though. Health, Education and Welfare might close down, but I’m sure the lights will stay on at ICE and the War Department.
On that subject, unfortunately my radio is on the blink, but I think I heard that after his call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the President demanded his unconditional surrender. So that’s another positive.
More later...
The Wealth of Nations 250 years on
Last week marked the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith’s classic The Wealth of Nations. So, as you might suspect, we’ve been rather busy. I’ve been writing lots of articles and doing lots of interviews about the book, as have other members of the team. And our anniversary lecture by Bohemian Adman Rory Sutherland was a huge success, and later this year we will be publishing a Smith festschrift with Springer, featuring several leading Smith experts (and me!).
I’m also doing talks to honour the anniversary in Zagreb, Cork, Podgorica, Stockholm, Tallinn and Indianapolis.
The Wealth of Nations, of course, is a very academic book. I figured that we need a version of it that even politicians can understand. So I’ve been working with some talented illustrators to produce Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations—The Graphic Novel. Adam Smith in cartoons, basically. They should be able to understand that. The first 50 pages are already up online, and the rest will follow in a few weeks. And there will be teaching guides on it, and maybe later an animated version.
The 250th Anniversary of The Wealth of Nations is an important anniversary for the Adam Smith Institute! If you’d like to help us celebrate, please consider donating by clicking the link below.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
The (sky-high) cost of Net Zero: industry
Thanks (but no thanks) to Ed Miliband’s Net Zero policy, UK businesses pay 81% more for electricity than their French competitors, our econo-boffin Mitchell Palmer has discovered. He estimates that Nissan’s electric bill for its car plant in Sunderland is about £35 million. They would pay a whopping £16m less if they moved production to France. (Why don’t they…?—Ed.) It’s a huge burden on UK manufacturing and leaves less for wages, investment and R&D.
The (sky-high) cost of Net Zero: Households
The ASI’s Electricity Tracker also finds we pay 40% more for household electricity than the average chez in France, a whopping £193 more per quarter! Since 1980, UK governments have talked about 21 new nuclear power projects, but managed to complete only one (Sizewell B). Thanks (but again, no thanks) to that record of failure, any prospect of cheap, reliable energy has gone up in smoke.
And another thing…
Stock market news: Rolls-Royce stock raced ahead, oil prices slipped back, builders’ shares collapsed and the value of the Durex maker Reckitt suffered a major slump. (The rest of this report has been censored for reasons of taste—Ed.)
GETTING THE WORD OUT
The celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Wealth of Nations garnered plenty of media attention. Eamonn Butler appeared in The Spectator [ [link removed] ] discussing what Adam Smith would make of AI, Mitchell Palmer wrote for Cap X [ [link removed] ] on ‘why everyone should read Adam Smith’, and James Lawson discussed how the Tories can use Smith’s writings to ‘reclaim their inheritance’ in Conservative Home [ [link removed] ] and the overlap between Smith and Catholic teaching in The Catholic Herald. [ [link removed] ] More broadly, the Institute’s reaction to the 250th was covered the world over, including in USA, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Japan.
ASI energy research also made the headlines, with The Telegraph [ [link removed] ] reporting on the impact of the UK’s failed energy system on household bills and industrial energy costs. The research was also mentioned in The Daily Mail, City AM [ [link removed] ], GB News [ [link removed] ]and other industry papers.
On the airwaves, Dr Madsen Pirie featured on BBC radio discussing the 250th. James Price, Joanna Marchong and Maxwell Marlow were regular fixtures across BBC Radio 5 Live, GB News and Talk TV, keeping the Institute’s voice central to a range of debates, including on tariffs, sick pay and driverless cars.
BOOK LAUNCHES
ASI Senior Fellow Tyler Goodspeed has appeared on Bloomberg [ [link removed] ], Spectator [ [link removed] ], Daily T [ [link removed] ], GB News [ [link removed] ] and a host of other outlets promoting his new book - Recession.
The book rewrites what we know about recessions. Contrary to popular perception, recessions are not the inevitable bust that follows an unsustainable boom. Instead, Recessions are caused by adverse shocks like war and energy price spikes, and far from unleashing gales of creative destruction, after a recession, economic growth typically resumes the same trend as before.
And, Oliver McPherson-Smith (also an ASI Senior Fellow) spoke at our latest Enlightenment Evening to promote his new book, Crude Calculations!
Crude Calculations charts a ground-breaking link between autocratic regime stability and economic liberalisation amid the global transition to lower-carbon energy sources. It introduces the rent-conditional reform theory to explain how preserving regime stability constrains economic liberalisation in resource-wealthy autocracies and hybrid regimes.
Congratulations to former ASI staffer Steve Bettison for completing the Transgrancanaria Advanced Trail Run, 50 miles (82 km) + 14,153ft of elevation (or 4,314 m) —and after recent surgery too. (I would do it myself, except my time might be a bit slow as at my age I’d have to take frequent breaks, probably in every Taverna on the route.)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Next Generation Drinks with Gawain Towler
On Tuesday, 7th April our young movers and shakers will be joined by Gawain Towler, who has spent more than two decades behind the scenes in British politics, from serving as Chief Press Officer for UKIP to Director of Communications for the Brexit Party. Now Head of Press and a Board Member at Reform UK, Gawain remains a permanent fixture in the contact books of lobby journalists and broadcasters alike.
The Real History of Communism Screening
Tuesday 12th May. Join us for an exclusive screening of Part 1 of a landmark two-part TV documentary exploring Communism in the 20th century, from its idealistic beginnings to the repression and violence of its most notorious regimes. The film is narrated by Hugh Bonneville and features leading historians and survivor testimony. Followed by a Q&A facilitated by the Rt. Hon. Steve Baker FRSA, ex-MP and Chairman of Fighting for a Free Future. Venue: a London Cinema (TBD).
Note - this event has been rescheduled from an earlier date in April.
And another thing…
Why don’t politicians understand technology? The government plans to ban social media access for all under-16s (i.e. for those who don’t know how to access a VPN. So that’s none.) Robotic cops could be on patrolling our streets within three years. (I bet they still won’t turn up to burglaries.) And the DoJ aims to use AI to save children from entering a life of crime. (If it could save them from a life in politics, that might be more useful.)
But I digress again…
EDUCATION
The Second Global Enlightenment Forum
The Global Enlightenment Forum is an annual series of whole-day academic conferences centred around the origins, growth, proliferation and application of Enlightenment thought and philosophy to the non-Western world.
As modern academia continues to discover the global roots that found some of history’s most important philosophical movements, we wish to tease apart the intellectual heritage and impact of the Enlightenment vis-à-vis its other regions. This spans the breadth and depth of intellectual canon: philosophy, literature, science, history, economics and politics will be discussed.
The conference brings together leading academics from across the globe to present and discuss Enlightenment and liberal values in their historical, philosophical and global contexts. Attendance of the conference is open to all members of the public.
Freedom Week
Freedom Week is a one week, residential programme run by the ASI and IEA in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Over the course of the week, successful applicants will attend talks and seminars from leading thinkers exploring the foundations, history and economic principles of classical liberalism. By the end of the programme, participants will leave with the knowledge, confidence and network to make the case for freedom.
Real History of Communism Educational Resources
To support classroom learning, we have identified specific segments of the documentary that align directly with key modules in the History GCSE and A-level curricula. The documentary remains available to watch in full.
ASI ONLINE
Read our super-blogs
ASI VIDEOS
ASI SHOP
To mark the 250th, we have new lines:
Pure Silk Neckties: Yes, 100% silk in navy, pink, and red, produced by Colour Wovens.
Adam Smith Bust: A hand-finished resin likeness with a bronze patina—perfect for offices and libraries.
The Optimistic Outlook by Dr Madsen Pirie is also now available to buy.
AND I QUOTE
From Adam Smith (of course), a lesson perhaps for the protectionists of all nations:
It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy...What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.
Or republic, for that matter.
Bye,
e
OUR SOCIALS
Twitter [ [link removed] ] 🦜
Facebook [ [link removed] ] 📖
LinkedIn [ [link removed] ] 🕴️
TikTok [ [link removed] ] 🎥
Instagram [ [link removed] ] 📸
YouTube [ [link removed] ] 📺
BlueSky 🦋 [ [link removed] ]
Subscribe for free to receive new content, information about events, and other soundness.
Unsubscribe [link removed]?
IN THIS ASI E-BULLETIN
From Dr Eamonn Butler (and a cast of thousands—well, that’s their IQ at least)
A VERY IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY: The Wealth of Nations at 250
RESEARCH: The sky-high costs of Net Zero for the UK
THE REAL HISTORY OF COMMUNISM: London screening
But first…
The news cupboard is empty of amusement this week. Except that the US government is beginning to shut down because Congress can’t agree a budget, so that’s rather cheering. Nothing can shut down President Trump, though. Health, Education and Welfare might close down, but I’m sure the lights will stay on at ICE and the War Department.
On that subject, unfortunately my radio is on the blink, but I think I heard that after his call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the President demanded his unconditional surrender. So that’s another positive.
More later...
The Wealth of Nations 250 years on
Last week marked the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith’s classic The Wealth of Nations. So, as you might suspect, we’ve been rather busy. I’ve been writing lots of articles and doing lots of interviews about the book, as have other members of the team. And our anniversary lecture by Bohemian Adman Rory Sutherland was a huge success, and later this year we will be publishing a Smith festschrift with Springer, featuring several leading Smith experts (and me!).
I’m also doing talks to honour the anniversary in Zagreb, Cork, Podgorica, Stockholm, Tallinn and Indianapolis.
The Wealth of Nations, of course, is a very academic book. I figured that we need a version of it that even politicians can understand. So I’ve been working with some talented illustrators to produce Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations—The Graphic Novel. Adam Smith in cartoons, basically. They should be able to understand that. The first 50 pages are already up online, and the rest will follow in a few weeks. And there will be teaching guides on it, and maybe later an animated version.
The 250th Anniversary of The Wealth of Nations is an important anniversary for the Adam Smith Institute! If you’d like to help us celebrate, please consider donating by clicking the link below.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
The (sky-high) cost of Net Zero: industry
Thanks (but no thanks) to Ed Miliband’s Net Zero policy, UK businesses pay 81% more for electricity than their French competitors, our econo-boffin Mitchell Palmer has discovered. He estimates that Nissan’s electric bill for its car plant in Sunderland is about £35 million. They would pay a whopping £16m less if they moved production to France. (Why don’t they…?—Ed.) It’s a huge burden on UK manufacturing and leaves less for wages, investment and R&D.
The (sky-high) cost of Net Zero: Households
The ASI’s Electricity Tracker also finds we pay 40% more for household electricity than the average chez in France, a whopping £193 more per quarter! Since 1980, UK governments have talked about 21 new nuclear power projects, but managed to complete only one (Sizewell B). Thanks (but again, no thanks) to that record of failure, any prospect of cheap, reliable energy has gone up in smoke.
And another thing…
Stock market news: Rolls-Royce stock raced ahead, oil prices slipped back, builders’ shares collapsed and the value of the Durex maker Reckitt suffered a major slump. (The rest of this report has been censored for reasons of taste—Ed.)
GETTING THE WORD OUT
The celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Wealth of Nations garnered plenty of media attention. Eamonn Butler appeared in The Spectator [ [link removed] ] discussing what Adam Smith would make of AI, Mitchell Palmer wrote for Cap X [ [link removed] ] on ‘why everyone should read Adam Smith’, and James Lawson discussed how the Tories can use Smith’s writings to ‘reclaim their inheritance’ in Conservative Home [ [link removed] ] and the overlap between Smith and Catholic teaching in The Catholic Herald. [ [link removed] ] More broadly, the Institute’s reaction to the 250th was covered the world over, including in USA, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Japan.
ASI energy research also made the headlines, with The Telegraph [ [link removed] ] reporting on the impact of the UK’s failed energy system on household bills and industrial energy costs. The research was also mentioned in The Daily Mail, City AM [ [link removed] ], GB News [ [link removed] ]and other industry papers.
On the airwaves, Dr Madsen Pirie featured on BBC radio discussing the 250th. James Price, Joanna Marchong and Maxwell Marlow were regular fixtures across BBC Radio 5 Live, GB News and Talk TV, keeping the Institute’s voice central to a range of debates, including on tariffs, sick pay and driverless cars.
BOOK LAUNCHES
ASI Senior Fellow Tyler Goodspeed has appeared on Bloomberg [ [link removed] ], Spectator [ [link removed] ], Daily T [ [link removed] ], GB News [ [link removed] ] and a host of other outlets promoting his new book - Recession.
The book rewrites what we know about recessions. Contrary to popular perception, recessions are not the inevitable bust that follows an unsustainable boom. Instead, Recessions are caused by adverse shocks like war and energy price spikes, and far from unleashing gales of creative destruction, after a recession, economic growth typically resumes the same trend as before.
And, Oliver McPherson-Smith (also an ASI Senior Fellow) spoke at our latest Enlightenment Evening to promote his new book, Crude Calculations!
Crude Calculations charts a ground-breaking link between autocratic regime stability and economic liberalisation amid the global transition to lower-carbon energy sources. It introduces the rent-conditional reform theory to explain how preserving regime stability constrains economic liberalisation in resource-wealthy autocracies and hybrid regimes.
Congratulations to former ASI staffer Steve Bettison for completing the Transgrancanaria Advanced Trail Run, 50 miles (82 km) + 14,153ft of elevation (or 4,314 m) —and after recent surgery too. (I would do it myself, except my time might be a bit slow as at my age I’d have to take frequent breaks, probably in every Taverna on the route.)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Next Generation Drinks with Gawain Towler
On Tuesday, 7th April our young movers and shakers will be joined by Gawain Towler, who has spent more than two decades behind the scenes in British politics, from serving as Chief Press Officer for UKIP to Director of Communications for the Brexit Party. Now Head of Press and a Board Member at Reform UK, Gawain remains a permanent fixture in the contact books of lobby journalists and broadcasters alike.
The Real History of Communism Screening
Tuesday 12th May. Join us for an exclusive screening of Part 1 of a landmark two-part TV documentary exploring Communism in the 20th century, from its idealistic beginnings to the repression and violence of its most notorious regimes. The film is narrated by Hugh Bonneville and features leading historians and survivor testimony. Followed by a Q&A facilitated by the Rt. Hon. Steve Baker FRSA, ex-MP and Chairman of Fighting for a Free Future. Venue: a London Cinema (TBD).
Note - this event has been rescheduled from an earlier date in April.
And another thing…
Why don’t politicians understand technology? The government plans to ban social media access for all under-16s (i.e. for those who don’t know how to access a VPN. So that’s none.) Robotic cops could be on patrolling our streets within three years. (I bet they still won’t turn up to burglaries.) And the DoJ aims to use AI to save children from entering a life of crime. (If it could save them from a life in politics, that might be more useful.)
But I digress again…
EDUCATION
The Second Global Enlightenment Forum
The Global Enlightenment Forum is an annual series of whole-day academic conferences centred around the origins, growth, proliferation and application of Enlightenment thought and philosophy to the non-Western world.
As modern academia continues to discover the global roots that found some of history’s most important philosophical movements, we wish to tease apart the intellectual heritage and impact of the Enlightenment vis-à-vis its other regions. This spans the breadth and depth of intellectual canon: philosophy, literature, science, history, economics and politics will be discussed.
The conference brings together leading academics from across the globe to present and discuss Enlightenment and liberal values in their historical, philosophical and global contexts. Attendance of the conference is open to all members of the public.
Freedom Week
Freedom Week is a one week, residential programme run by the ASI and IEA in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Over the course of the week, successful applicants will attend talks and seminars from leading thinkers exploring the foundations, history and economic principles of classical liberalism. By the end of the programme, participants will leave with the knowledge, confidence and network to make the case for freedom.
Real History of Communism Educational Resources
To support classroom learning, we have identified specific segments of the documentary that align directly with key modules in the History GCSE and A-level curricula. The documentary remains available to watch in full.
ASI ONLINE
Read our super-blogs
ASI VIDEOS
ASI SHOP
To mark the 250th, we have new lines:
Pure Silk Neckties: Yes, 100% silk in navy, pink, and red, produced by Colour Wovens.
Adam Smith Bust: A hand-finished resin likeness with a bronze patina—perfect for offices and libraries.
The Optimistic Outlook by Dr Madsen Pirie is also now available to buy.
AND I QUOTE
From Adam Smith (of course), a lesson perhaps for the protectionists of all nations:
It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy...What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.
Or republic, for that matter.
Bye,
e
OUR SOCIALS
Twitter [ [link removed] ] 🦜
Facebook [ [link removed] ] 📖
LinkedIn [ [link removed] ] 🕴️
TikTok [ [link removed] ] 🎥
Instagram [ [link removed] ] 📸
YouTube [ [link removed] ] 📺
BlueSky 🦋 [ [link removed] ]
Subscribe for free to receive new content, information about events, and other soundness.
Unsubscribe [link removed]?
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- Sender: Adam Smith Institute
- Political Party: n/a
- Country: United States
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