Why I'm Cynical About Big Government

G8: Summits, Cynicism, and the Activist State, New Ledger, July 10, 2009. "The Group of Eight summit that closes on Friday is being hosted by Italy in L’Aquila. The summit was to have been held in La Maddalena, on Sardinia, but the venue was shifted after an earthquake hit L’Aquila in April as a “show of solidarity” with the victims. The move sums up the politics of gesture that these all too frequent summits embody. This one comes only two months after the G-20 meeting in London, and two months before the next G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, which will be the third such assembly in a year. One summit is an adventure; two are routine. After that, it’s publicity by hyperactivity, and activity as a substitute for achievement."

No One Notices When Brown Comes To Town

Brown Presides Over A Diminished Britain, Yorkshire Post, July 9, 2009. "Gordon Brown joined other world leaders in Italy this week for the annual G8 summit. The problem, from his perspective, is that no-one notices when Gordon comes to town." This op-ed was written in my personal capacity.

Contradictory Aims at the G-8 Summit

Summit Meets, World Yawns, Contentions, July 6, 2009. "This week, on July 8-10, Italy will host the G8 Summit in L’Aquila. Italian planning for the Summit has emphasized what it asserts is the need to make the G8 “more representative and more efficient” by involving China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and Egypt, and to “to bring the institutions closer to people by focusing on their real problems, with the financial and economic crisis toping the list” by developing a “new global governance” structure. Italy has also stated that it plans to “[step] up the drive for consensus ahead of the UN conference on the climate in Copenhagen,” to promote “dialogues between producers and consumers [of energy] with the objective of reaching a stable prize [sic, for price] scheme,” and to oppose “food protectionism.” These goals are all delightfully contradictory."