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1 week ago | 
insider.iea.org.uk | Kristian Niemietz
Some British commentators have the annoying habit of using the word “liberal” when they mean “left-wing”. It is annoying for various reasons. Firstly, it feels like an unthinking copy-and-paste adoption of American English. Yes, America is bigger, and especially online, the Anglosphere feels increasingly like one single country. But then, the Swiss and the Austrians don’t just copy and paste everything the Germans say, and the Spaniards certainly don’t easily adopt Mexican expressions.
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2 weeks ago | 
insider.iea.org.uk | Reem Ibrahim |Kristian Niemietz
In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, Communications Manager Reem Ibraham interviews Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director, who has written a piece in The Telegraph entitled "The NHS Truths the Left Don't Want You to Hear." The conversation examines whether the NHS was ever truly the best healthcare system in the world, with Niemietz arguing that it never was, despite popular belief in a "lost golden age." They discuss how the NHS has consistently lagged behind other developed...
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3 weeks ago | 
yahoo.com | Kristian Niemietz
Until very recently, Health Secretary Wes Streeting tried to market himself as a radical health reformer, who is not afraid to poke sacred cows. While his reform-minded rhetoric always remained at a highly-abstract and general level, Streeting deserved some credit for it, because he did not have to do this. He had the courage to say things which he knew would rub some people up the wrong way, not least the Corbynite wing of his own party.
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3 weeks ago | 
telegraph.co.uk | Kristian Niemietz
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3 weeks ago | 
open.substack.com | Kristian Niemietz
On 15 April, the IEA’s Kristian Niemietz gave a talk at an event organised by the London New Liberals. The article below is based on his remarks. What does it mean to be a liberal in Britain in the 2020s? And how does that differ from what it used to mean, say, 15 years, 20 years or 30 years ago? It is not that liberal principles have changed. There is no reason why they should: we got it right the first time.
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4 weeks ago | 
substack.com | Kristian Niemietz
In the mid-19th century, lager was still virtually unknown outside of German-speaking Europe (and even there, it was not ubiquitous). By the early 20th century, it had conquered the world, establishing itself as the “default beer”. With a global market share of around 90%, that is what it remains to this day. Ask 1,000 randomly selected people to picture a beer – just “a beer”, without any further specification – and at least 900 of them will think of a lager.
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1 month ago | 
insider.iea.org.uk | Kristian Niemietz
In the second week of April, the IEA held its annual Future Thought Leaders seminar. The IEA’s Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz was one of the speakers. The article below is an abridged version of one of his talks. Brexit was undoubtedly the dominant political topic of the second half of the 2010s. To say that it divided the country would be an understatement. Interestingly, the dividing lines ran across as well as between preexisting political camps.
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1 month ago | 
focus.de | Kristian Niemietz
Wenn zeitgenössische Romane, Filme, Lieder oder Netflix-Serien eine unterschwellige politische Botschaft haben, versuche ich normalerweise, diese so gut es geht zu ignorieren und mich ausschließlich auf die Handlung bzw. die Musik zu konzentrieren. Ich tue das deswegen, weil mir von Anfang an klar ist, dass ich mit der politischen Meinung der Autoren nicht einverstanden sein werde, dass ich diese blödsinnig finde, und dass ich mich nur ärgere, wenn ich dem Beachtung schenke.
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1 month ago | 
insider.iea.org.uk | Kristian Niemietz
On 24 March, the IEA’s Kristian Niemietz spoke on a panel at the Free Market Road Show, held at the University of Ljubljana. The article below is based on his introductory remarks. I am going to say a few words about the economics of empire: about the idea that the wealth of the Western world was originally built on colonial exploitation. That is an idea which has become very fashionable over the past five years.
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1 month ago | 
insider.iea.org.uk | Kristian Niemietz
In today’s newsletter:Trump’s first 100 days and mea culpasWhy we should scrap the sugar taxDOGE Vs AfueraShould all new homes install solar panels? and more…. I have recently read two interesting “mea culpa”-style articles about the early days of the second Trump presidency: “What I Got Wrong about Trump” by Richard Hanania, and “I Owe the Libertarians an Apology” by Noah Smith.
