The Economist's Curious Views on Unions

Britain, Europe, Scotland – and the Economist, SAIS Review, May 7, 2012. "No policy can contribute to solving every problem, as E.E.C. membership claimed to do, and policies that pretend to do so are answers in search of a question. Arguments about Britain’s European destiny are so much fluff: there is no end of history, and if there is, the EU is not it."

Are the Conservatives Too Unpopular?

Do Britain’s Conservatives Need More ‘Decontamination’?, Contentions, October 13, 2011. "The virtues of competence, which the Economist dismisses as “quibbles,” have in fact been central to Tory victories since the 1870s. Telling the Tories that they will win by getting nicer isn’t just unsupported by the evidence of 2010, where Cameron’s decontaminating A-List candidates, selected for winnable seats, did relatively poorly. It’s not supported by the history of the modern Conservative Party. What it comes down to is the Economist’s dislike, in particular, of Conservative Euroskepticism."

Taking Bentham Seriously

No, Utilitarians Are Not Nice, Contentions, September 27, 2011. "It is all very well to suggest that legislation should seek to do more good that harm. But the problem with applying utilitarianism to legislation, in Bentham’s day or ours, is that someone has to decide which ends serve the greater good, just as the Ivy League experiments require someone to decide who lives and who dies, and just as top-down legislation in the progressive tradition requires wisdom that no single person possesses. This vision presumes the goal of legislation is control and direction, not the promotion of freedom under law."

Is Britain Part of the 'Anglo-Saxon' Model?

The Anglo-Saxon Model in a Hole, Contentions, May 16, 2009.