Towards a Liberal Utopia?

by R. Harris, Philip Booth (Editor)

Overview

Socialists have never been shy of sketching out their dreams of a better world, but that better world has never materialised in socialist countries. Indeed, socialism has frequently achieved the precise opposite of what was intended by its architects. The first part of Towards a Liberal Utopia? outlines the dreams of liberal economists and political scientists. These are not the dreams of people who wish to achieve their plans through central direction and who believe they know the precise outcome of the process called liberalisation. Rather our liberal thinkers sketch out frameworks for policy, which, in increasing the domain for individual action, will give rise to beneficial results that cannot be foreseen in detail. This will not lead to utopia, but the authors are confident that greater freedom will lead to better and more prosperous society. The second part of the book shows how an earlier generation of liberal economists turned ideas into action. Led by Ralph Harris and Arthur Seldon, the authors writing for the Institute of Economic Affairs helped to turn back the tide of collectivism by undermining its intellectual foundations.
They were so successful that no serious political party now proposes a platform of central planning. As the authors featured in the first part of the book make clear, however, that does not mean that there are no new dragons of collectivism to slay. Some battles may have been won, but the war of ideas continues. Towards a Liberal Utopia? is essential reading for all those who are curious to know how the liberal economic agenda will develop over the coming generation. I trust you get some satisfaction from how far the influence of the IEA has spread, directly and indirectly. Milton Friedman, 6th October 2004.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780255365635
Publisher:	Institute of Economic Affairs
Publication date:	01/20/2005
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.46(h) x (d)

About the Author

Philip Booth is Academic and Research Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs and Professor of Finance, Public Policy and Ethics at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. From 1 November 2016, he will be Director of Research and Public Engagement at St Mary’s. Previously, he worked for the Bank of England as an advisor on financial stability issues and has been Associate Dean of Cass Business School. He has written widely, including a number of books, on investment, finance, social insurance and pensions as well as on the relationship between Catholic social teaching and economics. Philip has a BA in economics from the University of Durham and a PhD from City University.

Table of Contents

The authors     xi
Foreword     xvii
Acknowledgements     xx
List of figures and tables     xxi
Introduction   Philip Booth     3
Times Future?
Health 2055   Tim Evans   Helen Evans     11
Promise and reality: how the NHS failed people     11
The political economy of health rationing     12
Tiptoeing back to market     13
A real market     15
Questioning the role of a state     16
Rise of the therapeutic state     17
References     20
Education reclaimed   James Tooley     22
A dream of education without the state     22
Three principles     23
The end of 'school'     24
Education for its own sake     25
The journey     26
References     30
Policing a liberal society   John Blundell     31
Introduction     31
The growth of crime     31
Better policing     32
Exploding myths     33
Successful ways of preventing crime     36
Applying these lessons to the UK     39
Conclusion: Major institutional change     42
References     43
Pension provision in 2055   Philip Booth     45
Introduction     45
State involvement in pensions     45
Time to move on     47
The difficulty of moving on     49
The minimal state in pension provision: an outline proposal     49
A more pragmatic approach     52
Transition arrangements     54
Conclusion     54
References     55
Social security in a free society   David G. Green     56
Introduction     56
The safety net     58
The alternative     59
Policy options for people out of work     60
Policy options for those in work on low pay     61
Provision for old age     61
Conclusion     63
Limits on the tax burden   Tim Congdon     64
What is the limit on the tax burden?     64
Unsustainability of very high tax rates     65
Tax policy over the coming generations     70
References     71
Britain's relationship with the European Union   Patrick Minford      72
Introduction     72
Agricultural protectionism     73
Manufacturing protectionism     74
Services: a regime of internal protectionism     75
Harmonisation     76
The EU pensions crisis     77
What should the UK do?     78
Regulating the labour market   J. R. Shackleton     80
Increasing regulation     80
Freedom of contract?     82
What does regulation do?     84
The impact on the economy as a whole     85
Employment regulation in the long term     86
References     91
Free trade: the next 50 years   Razeen Sally     92
Taking stock: the case for free trade, past and present     92
Taking stock: free trade in practice     94
Looking ahead: world political-economic trends     95
Looking ahead: making the case for free trade in the next 50 years     97
Conclusion     100
Competition in land use planning: an agenda for the twenty-first century   Mark Pennington     101
Introduction     101
The case for markets in land use planning     101
Private land use planning: past, present and future      104
Conclusion: a liberal utopia     108
References     108
Beyond Kyoto: real solutions to greenhouse emissions from developing countries   Roger Bate   David Montgomery     110
Introduction     110
Economics, energy and emissions     111
Energy use and economic growth in developing countries     112
Choice of technology in developing countries     114
Economic freedom, market imperfections and greenhouse gas emissions     116
Impediments to efficient energy use in particular countries     122
Policy implications     123
References     124
The environment in 2055   Julian Morris     126
Introduction     126
Benefits, risks and trade-offs     126
Private regulation: So Safe and Bright Future     128
Over-fishing and individual transferable quotas     129
Privatisation and conservation     131
The decline of natural disasters     132
The last 50 years     132
Conclusion     136
Capitalism   David Henderson   Geoffrey Owen     137
Capitalism yesterday and today     137
Capitalism tomorrow      140
Economic progress and individual freedom     145
References     145
A constitution for liberty   John Meadowcroft     146
A written, codified constitution     147
Constitutional limits on government     148
Inter-jurisdictional competition: national, regional and local government     149
Separation of powers and a constitutional court     149
A constitutional monarchy     150
The Houses of Parliament     151
Conclusion     152
References     153
The Hayekian future of economic methodology   Paul Ormerod     154
Introduction     154
The Hayekian challenge to twentieth-century economics     155
Hayek, complexity and knowledge     157
Bounded rationality and imperfect information: the real world of markets     158
Hayek, Vernon Smith and the future of 21st-century economics     161
References     161
Times Past
An independent station   Ralph Harris     164
In the wake of Keynes - and Hayek     166
Harris and Seldon begin the fight back     167
The genius of Arthur Seldon     169
Recruiting among the awkward squad      170
And the world said...     172
Playing the fool with inflation   Ralph Harris     174
Full employment at any price     175
Earlier monetary instruction     177
Friedman enters the fray     178
How much unemployment?     180
Hayek's competing currencies     180
Now for 'planning'   Ralph Harris     182
On to 'growthmanship'     183
Behold: the National Plan     184
Does planning never work?     185
...even in France     187
Not forgetting free trade     188
The verdict on 'planning'     189
Market versus state   Ralph Harris     191
Incorrigible socialism     191
What about the unions?     193
Why not welfare?     194
Public choice     197
Behind enemy lines   Ralph Harris     200
Cool reception     201
Planning again     202
Enter bete noire Shonfield     204
Et tu, William!     205
Keep smiling     206
Honourable defeat     208
Valediction     208
The development of the IEA's academic reputation - a personal reflection   Arthur Seldon     211
Notes     215
About the IEA     224