A HAYEKIAN VIEW

In a new briefing paper Mark Pennington, Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy at King’s College, University of London and an IEA Fellow, argues that expectations for public responses to the pandemic should be modest and should recognise that successful government action may owe as much to accident as to design.

In his paper, ‘The response to the pandemic: A Hayekian view’, the author uses Hayek’s distinction between simple and complex systems to illustrate the character of the coronavirus policy challenges and the difficulty policymakers face in learning which responses may be most effective.

Mark warns that while government action may be necessary in ‘emergency situations’, this does not mean it should continue to act as a substitute for markets once the emergency has passed. 

On the contrary: the difficulties that governments face in responding to the coronavirus could be multiplied if attempts to plan economic activity became the norm in the post-pandemic age.

You can read the paper in full here.

THE KEY TO SUCCES

Who could have predicted that Nelson Mandela, a once-obscure lawyer, could have reconciled people of different heritages and established a viable democracy in South Africa? Or that Helena Rubinstein, a young woman growing up in a Kraków ghetto, could have changed the face of beauty throughout the world? Or that the illegitimate son of a notary would become one of the world's greatest painters, known universally by his first name, Leonardo?

According to a new book from renowned author and businessman Richard Koch, contrary to popular opinion we can all strive for unreasonable success by following nine key attitudes. "Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve It: Unlocking the Nine Secrets of People Who Changed the World" was the focus of a fascinating IEA Book Club event held on Tuesday.

You can catch up on the video on the IEA YouTube channel here, 

CRIES OF A "DYING DICTATORSHIP"

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s disrupted re-election on 9th August has triggered huge protests. An open letter signed by 150 economists has warned that "catastrophic economic hardship for Belarusian citizens is certain in the case of military violence, and further abuse of human and economic rights."



EPiCENTER, our independent network of think tanks from across Europe, has kept a close eye on the rising turmoil. Its Director, Adam Bartha, expressed concerns in an interview with Portuguese daily newspaper Expresso. He analysed how European governments could contribute to the Belarusian transformation to liberal democracy and a market economy. Read the article here.

CAMPUS CENSORSHIP

Amid growing calls for a bailout of the university sector back in July, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson suggested institutions would first have to prove their commitment to free speech.

Are strongly-held political attitudes restricting the freedom of those who disagree to research and teach on contested subjects? What impact does "cancel culture" have on the scope and quality of research output? What can be done? 

In a thought-provoking new video, IEA Media Manager Emily Carver sat down with IEA Fellow and Free Speech Union Co-Founder Radomir Tylecote, Eric Kaufmann, Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College and co-author of the recent Policy Exchange report ‘Academic freedom in the UK: Protecting viewpoint diversity’, and Joanna Williams, Founding Director of Cieo.

While the panel were in agreement that free speech is under threat in our universities, there was lively debate over how we can protect viewpoint diversity: is government intervention required, or does change need to come from the bottom up? Watch here. 

On the subject of the precarious financial position some institutions find themselves in – IEA Head of Education Dr Stephen Davies recently wrote a briefing paper urging us to resist calls to bail out the sector. Doing so, he said, would simply enable universities to continue as before. Read his briefing paper on reshaping the UK’s Higher Education for the post-pandemic world here.

YOU'RE INVITED

IEA BOOK CLUB WEBINAR WITH MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER

On Tuesday 15th September at 6pm, the IEA Book Club will be hosting Michael Shellenberger to discuss his latest best-selling book “Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All”. 

Michael has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. But last year he decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction. What is really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? 

If you would like to attend this upcoming webinar, please register here.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS...

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"I just want to say that the online stuff you guys are doing is absolutely astonishing! I’ve watched every Live with Littlewood in entirety and just finished watching the latest. It’s been superb entertainment."

"Thanks for making this crisis more of an age of enlightenment."