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Articles by Harrison Griffiths
Bad omens in the Balkans
As the world looks elsewhere, tensions are on the rise in the Balkans once more “Great power competition and ethnic tensions in the Balkans; what could go wrong?” — Tsar Nicholas II to his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II, probably. It’s not exactly original to observe that the post-Cold War international order is in pretty bad shape. After a decade-and-a-half of appeasement, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine for daring to stray from its influence.
How Trump's tariffs hurt his biggest supporters the most
Mingo County, West Virginia once sat at the centre of America’s coal-fueled industrial boom. As mining grew in America’s Appalachian coalfields, trade unions became an essential part of everyday life. As night follows day, the Democratic Party then became dominant. You wouldn’t recognise any of that today. Mingo’s population has dropped by around 50% since 1950. As coal mining jobs were eroded by automation, globalisation, and decarbonisation, people simply left.
Britain must stop subsidising the Ugandan regime
We are propping up a brutal dictator Last week, the Ugandan government staged yet another sham election. In a campaign marred by political violence, polling irregularities, and lawfare aimed at silencing critics, President Yoweri Museveni managed to achieve a whopping 70 per cent of the vote, marking his seventh consecutive victory in a brutal forty-year rule. Throughout that time, his regime has been propped up by billions of dollars in aid from across the world, including Britain.
An Incoherent White House Faces a Clear Moral Case in Venezuela
The Trump administration’s push to reshape American foreign policy—and, with it, the global political order—continues at pace. On one front, the President appears determined to capitulate to Russia, leaving Ukraine and America’s NATO allies exposed. Yet in America’s own backyard, the administration has adopted a far more confrontational posture, signaling its intent to remove Nicolás Maduro and his socialist regime, by force if necessary.
False consciousness revisited
In a recent IEA Insider piece, our Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz examined and critiqued the Marxist concept of ‘false consciousness’. In short ‘false consciousness’ is a term given to an explanation of why workers do not begin socialist revolutions despite obtaining the necessary material conditions. Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Trump’s voters stand to lose the most from his kamikaze trade policies
Teflon Don strikes again. After concluding his new trade agreement with the European Union last week, many US trading partners will now face sky-high tariffs on their exports. The president’s strongarm tactics and dealmaking have led many on the Right to praise Trump’s approach. Even The New York Times has claimed that Trump is “winning his trade war”. The economic reality is that Trump isn’t winning anything.
Progressive Myths by Michael Huemer (Review)
Some of the first actions Donald Trump took after returning to the White House targeted the federal government’s so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. His second administration’s approach to reversing DEI policies has marked a clear shift from his first administration, which tended merely to loudly signal opposition to these policies.
Europe must stop lying to itself
Systematic mistruths are crippling our economies “Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid.” These are the penultimate sentences of Russian scientist Valery Legasov’s courtroom exposition in the spectacular 2019 Chernobyl miniseries.
Robert Kennedy, un lunático dirigiendo el manicomio
Por Harrison Griffiths. El artículo Robert Kennedy, un lunático dirigiendo el manicomio fue publicado originalmente en CapX. Donald Trump ha vuelto. Dependiendo de su disposición, esa frase puede llenarle de sentimientos de pavor o de triunfo. Las implicaciones del regreso de Trump sobre la inmigración, la economía, la guerra en Ucrania y una miríada de otras cuestiones son altamente impredecibles debido al temperamento variable del presidente y a su posicionamiento político.
Don’t blame immigration for Britain’s low investment rates
Britain has experienced a period of relative economic stagnation since migration numbers have risen, despite the clear economic consensus in favour of liberal migration policies. It is understandable that migration sceptics would search for an explanation. Consensus does not imply correctness, so could immigration actually be bad for the economy? One of the main economic arguments among British immigration-sceptics is that liberal immigration policy reduces capital investment.
Don't blame immigration for Britain's low investment rates
One of the main economic arguments among British immigration-sceptics is that liberal immigration policy reduces capital investment. The logic is simple and certainly plausible: Immigration into Britain has hit record levels over the past two decades, while capital investment (particularly in labour-saving machinery) lags compared to peer countries. High labour supply reduces the incentive to invest in capital which would reduce the need for immigration and boost medium and long-run productivity.
Labour rent controls would be a disaster
‘Rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing,’ declared Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck in 1971. Lindbeck may have belonged to the political left but he understood basic economic principles. He knew that far from lowering prices, rent controls only lead to disaster.
Don’t forget Armenia
Armenians, once the target of genocide, are under threat again Arriving at the international airport in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan at 3:30am was a uniquely discombobulating experience. The combination of harassment by entrepreneurial taxi drivers and signs universally adorned in letters alien to a lifelong user of the Latin alphabet left me unable to ground myself in my new surroundings.
What the communitarian Right gets wrong about industrial policy
Early last month, former Foreign Secretary William Hague praised Onward’s The Case for Conservatism, emphasising its call for an ‘active state’. At the heart of its calls for more government is a desire for industrial strategy, particularly in ‘cutting edge’ areas like AI and – the ever vaguely defined – ‘skills’. This triggered an interesting interaction on Twitter between Guido Fawkes and Onward’s Gavin Rice.
Is climate change denial really on the rise?
Earlier this week, the Guardian published a write-up of a report titled ‘Third of UK teenagers believe climate change exaggerated, report shows’. The report in question by the Center for Countering Digital Hate claims that climate change denial is on the rise among young people, particularly those getting their views online. Except it doesn’t show that at all.
The red tape regulation driving the cost-of-living crisis
The turn of the Millennium was a seminal moment of hope for Britain. After the doldrums of the 1970s, the UK firmly re-established itself as a leading global economy – no longer the sick man of Europe. How things have changed. The story of living standards since has been one of clear decline. Since 2000, average wages have risen by 86% and prices have risen by 80%.
Don’t take the vapes!
Will there be no end to the government’s embrace of prohibitionism? “This is not a freedom issue. It is no stride on the long march to serfdom”, wrote The Guardian’s Simon Hoggart of the 2007 indoor smoking ban. This line should be given pride of place in the gag reel of history next to the likes of “Peace for our time”, “Dewey Defeats Truman”, and “Devolution will kill nationalism stone dead”. 17 years on, it is government policy to outlaw disposable e-cigarettes and pursue tobacco prohibition.
Is climate change denial really on the rise?
Earlier this week, the Guardian published a write-up of a report titled ‘Third of UK teenagers believe climate change exaggerated, report shows’. The report in question by the Center for Countering Digital Hate claims that climate change denial is on the rise among young people, particularly those getting their views online. Except it doesn’t show that at all.
Britain is going cashless - and that's fine
Britain is moving in a decidedly cashless direction. In the decade between 2012 and 2022, cash payments fell from 54 per cent to 14 per cent according to UK Finance. This isn’t happening because of some grand conspiracy. It’s driven by the ease of paying with a card over having to carry around cash and deal with change. It’s also easier for businesses, who find managing physical cash to be expensive and burdensome.
The utter lunacy of Sunak’s smoking ban
The United Kingdom now stands alone. The incoming New Zealand government has pledged to abandon Jacinda Ardern’s ban on anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 purchasing tobacco. Malaysia has also overturned a similar policy due to its discriminatory nature, whilst the only modern nation to enact full prohibition, Bhutan, lifted its ban in 2021. This means Rishi Sunak leads the planet’s only government dedicated to a generational smoking ban. Prohibition consistently fails.
Don’t get squishy on free speech
There is superficiality about free speech across the political spectrum. Over the weekend, in response to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Dan Hodges, normie-journalist-in-chief, said of free speech advocates: “Presumably if we follow your logic, in 1936 you’d have backed Moseley’s right to march down Cable Street. The right to protest was sacrosanct.” Well, yes, obviously.
How zero-sum thinking leads to zero-sum policies
Two new batches of data have emerged in recent weeks studying peoples’ tendency to think in zero-sum terms. One piece concluded that Democratic Party voters in the US tended to be slightly more prone to this than Republicans. The second, published in the Financial Times, concluded that young people in the UK think in zero-sum terms far more than their older counterparts.
The problem with ‘everything-bagel’ YIMBYism
Earlier this year, progressive columnist Ezra Klein wrote a column criticising ‘everything-bagel liberalism’ (by “liberalism”, Klein meant left wing progressivism, not actual liberalism). He wrote that “one problem [progressives] are facing at every level where they govern is that they often add too much.
Free speech for all
Everyone hurts when the state restricts our right to speak The expanding size and scope of the state since 1997 has been a catastrophe. Since Tony Blair took office, key institutions have been infected by a nightmarish ideological hybrid of legal positivism, Leftist identitarianism, and European-style managerialism. Our imperfectly applied but long-standing right to freedom of speech is a consummate example.
Protection, containment, and restitution - a liberal vision of criminal justice
Increasing crime rates are always cause for concern, but the UK’s pathetically low rates of crime solving are making the issue impossible to ignore. Everyone who lives in London will be aware of many cases of phone or bike theft where the Police made very little effort to reclaim the stolen property never mind prosecute the people responsible. Indeed, just 1.7 per cent of reported bike theft cases result in successful prosecution.
Do you feel in control?
Seven years on from the Brexit vote, it is hard to feel independent There’s an iconic scene in The Dark Knight Rises, the much-maligned final film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Bane, the main protagonist, is conspiring with John Daggett, a wealthy businessman to enact a hostile takeover of Wayne Enterprises (Batman’s corporation). While Daggett lambasts the villain over the failure to make him CEO, Bane asks a third. “Don’t go, I’m in charge!” Daggett retorts.
Why are lockdown sceptics loyal to Boris Johnson?
One of the stranger aspects of the ‘Partygate’ discourse has been the loyalty shown by some conservative opponents of COVID-19 lockdowns to Boris Johnson’s cause. Prominent media figures on the right have jumped to Johnson’s defence over allegations that he broke lockdown rules, with arguments tending to focus on talking points like ‘this is all a waste of time’, ‘they’re out for revenge against Boris’, and ‘it was just cake’.
The buck stops with the bank — Institute of Economic Affairs
IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop has been quoted in The Daily Express, responding to the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates to five per cent and inflation continues to run rampant. Julian said: “I would not necessarily single out Andrew Bailey. There are nine members on the Monetary Policy Committee and they rely on economic forecasts made by Bank staff. “But Bailey is the Governor of the Bank, so the buck has to stop with him.
Why we should not obsess about headline net migration figures — Institute of Economic Affairs
Recent ONS figures show that in 2022, net migration into the UK exceeded 600,000 people, with more than 1m people newly arriving here. This, combine with reports that the figures might go even higher this year, has unsurprisingly caused outrage and concern among immigration sceptics, but the worries seem to go beyond the usual suspects.
The Property Chronicle - Real estate, alternative real assets and other diversions
Real estate, alternative real assets and other diversions Pretty much every renter in Britain has a horrible landlord story. Whether it’s a mouldy bathroom, exaggerated damage costs after a tenancy, delayed repairs, surprise rent increases or shock evictions, there is no shortage of horror stories.
Juryless Trials Are a Naked Power Grab and a Serious Threat to Liberty
Since the ratification of the Magna Carta in 1215, the right of accused people to be tried by their peers has been an essential protection against government overreach in English Common Law. That function was so vital that denial of the right to trial by jury was one of the American Revolutionaries’ core grievances that led them to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776. Fast forward to 2023 and the Scottish government will pilot trying certain serious sexual assault cases without a jury.
Juryless Trials Are a Naked Power Grab and a Serious Threat to Liberty | Harrison Griffiths
Since the ratification of the Magna Carta in 1215, the right of accused people to be tried by their peers has been an essential protection against government overreach in English Common Law. That function was so vital that denial of the right to trial by jury was one of the American Revolutionaries’ core grievances that led them to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776. Fast forward to 2023 and the Scottish government will pilot trying certain serious sexual assault caseswithout a jury.
Why liberals should not take a side in the Culture War
For a brief period in the mid-late 2010s, it looked like the Culture War might be an environment in which liberalism could thrive. Take the now-ridiculed ‘Intellectual Dark Web’, a group of thinkers from the progressive Left, conservative Right, and everything in between who united around shared liberal values like freedom of speech and racial colour-blindness in response to the growing authoritarianism and race-essentialism of the Left.
In UK and US, Tough on Borders Means Tough on Civil Liberties
The immigration wars engulfing politics in Britain are roaring on. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” carrying asylum seekers across the English Channel is facing stiff opposition within his own party.
Should British liberals support the monarchy? — Institute of Economic Affairs
Sam Collins, IEA Senior Policy Advisor, argues yes: Classical liberalism is a political movement that is based on promoting – amongst other things – individual liberty, equality before the law and social mobility. The idea of a hereditary monarchy, where someone takes a role in the constitutional structure purely by dint of birth (and, until recent changes to the law, gender), seems incongruous to these ideals.
National Conservatism - another liberal response
With a selection of MPs and authors attempting to launch a National Conservative movement in the UK, my colleague Alex Morton, the IEA’s Director of Strategy, wrote an interesting liberal response to their ideology.
Maths education no silver bullet for economic growth — Institute of Economic Affairs
Commenting on Rishi Sunak’s speech about mandating mathematics education for all students under 18, the IEA’s Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh said: “Extending compulsory maths education is no silver bullet for economic growth. “The Soviet Union was world-renowned for maths and science instruction but that failed to translate into a strong economy. Similarly, the UK has some of the top universities in the world yet has experienced stagnant growth for the last decade.
Religious freedom for all, religious privilege for none
The opinions in Politics.co.uk's Comment section are those of the author. Robust legal protections for religious freedom are essential in a liberal society. However, this does not mean religious activity is exempt from liberal, secular laws or ring-fenced from robust public criticism. By privileging religious sensibilities in secular institutions while simultaneously censoring peaceful religious speech, the UK has betrayed this principle. We must urgently reverse this.
The British Free-Speech Slippery Slope Has Become a Cliff
It seems that the British state is ratcheting up its censorship of unpopular opinions. In December, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested in Birmingham after the police questioned her for silently praying within the “buffer zone” of an abortion clinic. Last week, Adam Smith-Connor was fined in Bournemouth for doing the same. Buffer zones prohibit protests against abortion within a certain distance of a clinic for the stated purpose of protecting women from harassment.
A Warning to Americans From Across the Pond: Don’t Take Your Free Speech Rights for Granted
For the past decade, freedom of speech has been at the forefront of America’s culture war, and it should not be controversial to say that both sides are at least partly to blame for this. Many on the left have exploited their expanding cultural hegemony to suppress dissenting speech in … Click to read the rest HERE-> A Warning to Americans From Across the Pond: Don’t Take Your Free Speech Rights for Granted first posted at Conservative Daily News
A Warning to Americans From Across the Pond: Don’t Take Your Free Speech Rights for Granted | Harrison Griffiths
For the past decade, freedom of speech has been at the forefront of America's culture war, and it should not be controversial to say that both sides are at least partly to blame for this.
Cultivated meat demonstrates the market’s ability to solve moral problems
The life of the libertarian vegetarian is often a lonely one. Vegetarianism is, for now, ‘left-coded’, inextricably linked to climate activism and nanny statist policies to manipulate diets. The fictional libertarian archetype from Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson, is as committed to his carnivore diet as he is to individual liberty. Nevertheless, free markets and individual liberty are perfectly compatible with moral opposition to animal slaughter.
Rishi Sunak’s pro-family rhetoric masks his failure to deliver
In last week’s speech outlining the government’s priorities for 2023 and beyond, Rishi Sunak stressed the importance of family. He said: “family is something politicians struggle to talk about because you can all too readily be pilloried for being out of touch or worse, hostile to those who don’t conform to some idealised form. We live in a world today where family can and does take many forms. But whatever your family looks like, it doesn’t matter as long as the common bond is love.
Book review: "Burning Down The House" by Andrew Koppelman — Institute of Economic Affairs
Those of us in the free market movement who spend too much time online are acutely aware that libertarians have a tendency to live in echo chambers. Some of us have been unlucky enough to discover those corners of Twitter and Reddit in which the likes of Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and Hans-Hermann Hoppe are revered to the same extent as a portrait of Kim Il-Sung in a Pyongyang living room.
DEBATE: As the government cracks down on pro-life speech, does the UK need a First Amendment?
Institute of Economic Affairs Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths argues YES It is difficult to look at the state of free speech in Britain and continue to argue that the right is safe in Parliament’s hands. Just yesterday, reports emerged that a woman in Birmingham was arrested and charged for silently praying outside of an abortion clinic – removing any doubt that freedom of expression in Britain is under serious threat.
DEBATE: Should the government be funding an energy saving advice campaign?
Andy Mayer, Chief Operating Officer and Energy Analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs argues YES When the Government is spending £80-100bn on subsidising energy bills, spending a further £15m on promoting ways to reduce energy use is not a terrible idea. It need only have a 0.02% impact, beyond what people would do regardless, to reduce overall spending. This does not seem a high bar, even for a Government information campaign. All the criticisms of such campaigns are also correct.
Britain needs constitutional reform, but Gordon Brown is not the man for the job.
Outside of those groups which pang for a return to Blairism, Gordon Brown’s proposals for constitutional reform have, for the most part, been greeted by derision and ridicule. This is for a good reason: of all the people Sir Keir Starmer could have chosen to review the British constitution, he put his faith a man who was integral to implementing the misguided constitutional reforms of the late 1990s. The worst of these reforms was devolution.
Classical liberals and libertarians should admit that Brexit has been a catastrophe
With few exceptions, classical liberals and libertarians were strongly in favour of Brexit. Some among our number had been on the front line of battles against European integration since the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty and for them, Brexit represented the culmination of an uphill struggle against centralisation, bureaucratic supremacy, and Brussels’ regulatory overreach.
Don Lavoie: The most important libertarian – and Leftist! – you’ve never heard of — Institute of Economic Affairs
Any free market liberal worth their salt will be familiar with the basic argument made about central planning by the likes of Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek. This is that comprehensive central planning is undesirable because rational economic calculation is near impossible without the information transmitted by markets and prices, which in turn are predicated on property rights and voluntary exchange.
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