Archive for Stephen Davies
Stephen Davies is academic director at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London.
The Other Test: Debts and Taxes
States and polities—or rather the ruling classes that control them—face two great tests in the course of history. Failure to meet them typically leads to disaster and even the dissolution of the State. The first and most familiar is war, armed conflict with other States (or more accurately, other ruling groups). By analogy wars can [...]
26Oct2011 | Stephen Davies | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Virtues of Commerce: Lessons from Japan
One of the great questions of historical inquiry, which I have addressed in these pages and elsewhere, is exactly how the modern world came to be so different from what went before. Since about 1750 there has been a 16-fold increase in real wealth per capita on a global scale, something completely unprecedented that has [...]
22Jun2011 | Stephen Davies | 2 comments | ContinuedMaps and Power
The modern world (meaning since the later eighteenth century) is different in several profound ways from earlier times. One of the most important of these is the nature and power of government. Modern States can do things beyond the reach of earlier ones, however large or aggressive. This expanded capacity is a feature of modern [...]
23Mar2011 | Stephen Davies | 0 comments | ContinuedLessons from the Scottish Enlightenment
Among the many aspects of the modern world invented in Scotland, we may include the discipline of economics—indeed, the contemporary social sciences in general. In the latter half of the eighteenth century a whole congregation of brilliant intellects appeared in this small country on the edge of Europe and articulated profound insights into what we [...]
24Nov2010 | Stephen Davies | 6 comments | ContinuedThe Economic Way of Thinking Makes a Comeback
As readers of this magazine know, its main goal, and that of FEE as a whole, is economic education—that is, to explain and spread essential economic insights so more people become familiar with the “economic way of thinking,” as Israel Kirzner called it. This brings insight to politics, society, and history. Above all, it gives [...]
25Aug2010 | Stephen Davies | 2 comments | ContinuedFootball and Spontaneous Orders
One of the most profound and difficult insights of the economic way of thinking is that free association can produce complex, rule-governed institutions and social orders that no single person or small group designed. Professional sports illustrates this insight dramatically. Today professional sports is an important business and a major social phenomenon. It is a [...]
20Apr2010 | Stephen Davies | 12 comments | ContinuedDangerous Historical Myths
One of the most powerful influences on human affairs is historical myth—beliefs about the past that are simply wrong. Some historical myths have far-reaching and baleful effects because they shape the way people understand not only the past but also the present, leading them to make harmful or even dangerous decisions. This seems to be [...]
5Jan2010 | Stephen Davies | 6 comments | ContinuedA Family of Heroes
In any major city, particularly a capital, the great majority of statues and memorials pay tribute to monarchs and presidents, priests, generals, and statesmen. This reflects the way history is commonly understood and taught: as the story of the achievements of those associated with political power, government, and war. Memorials to the historical figures associated [...]
23Sep2009 | Stephen Davies | 8 comments | ContinuedFortune Tellers and Planners, Public and Private
Above all we should remember that government is no wiser and in many ways less well informed than private actors.
21May2009 | Stephen Davies | 1 comment | ContinuedBailing Out the Big Three Repeats Britain’s Mistake
A major reason for any kind of historical writing is to provide guidance for the present. As we read an account of the past, we may see similarities to the present and (we may hope) avoid repeating the same kinds of mistakes. In this sense historiography forms part of the collective memory of a society [...]
28Feb2009 | Stephen Davies | 3 comments | ContinuedHistorical Reputations
In an election year it is useful to try to remove oneself from the hubbub of daily campaign news and advertisements and to imagine how the candidates will be viewed by historians. This is not a simple exercise, and the attempt will reveal a number of widespread attitudes that affect our view of both past [...]
1Nov2008 | Stephen Davies | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Recurring Crisis
Recently the governor of the Bank of England announced that the “nice” times had come to an end. (In the Bank’s lexicon, NICE = “Non-Inflationary Constant Expansion”). This news will not come as any shock to the many Americans who have had their homes repossessed recently, but it does appear to have startled many of [...]
1Jul2008 | Stephen Davies | 0 comments | ContinuedMigration, Markets, and Governments
One of the hottest political topics today on both sides of the Atlantic is immigration. What, though, do we mean by this and what light does history cast on our present concerns and anxieties? Migration, the movement and resettlement of people, is one of the universals of history. In some periods it happens on a [...]
1Apr2008 | Stephen Davies | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Real Argument about Government
A lot of contemporary political debate centers on how big government should be. The debate tends to have two main features. First, it uses measures such as government spending as a proportion of GDP or the share of total income taken in taxation. Figures such as these show a dramatic rise in the size of [...]
1Dec2007 | Stephen Davies | 2 comments | ContinuedTime to Revive Individualism?
One problem facing people who broadly favor smaller, limited government; private property; and free exchange is what to call themselves. Historically the word “liberal” was the answer and still is in many parts of continental Europe. However, in the Anglophone world, particularly the United States, the word has now come to refer to those who [...]
1Sep2007 | Stephen Davies | 2 comments | ContinuedTrade and Diversity
Trade is one of the oldest of human institutions, and trading relationships are among the most fundamental of all human relationships. Indeed, we may say that networks of peaceful exchange form the skeleton of all complex human societies. One of the most striking features of trade throughout human history is how it connects people who [...]
1May2007 | Stephen Davies | 2 comments | ContinuedA Different Story
In the days when there was still a pretense that the public school system was actually concerned with education, one of the main elements of instruction was to make sure that pupils could remember a series of important historical dates and their significance. It was thought that everyone should know why dates such as 1492, [...]
1Jan2007 | Stephen Davies | 2 comments | Continued-
The Latest
Contraception: Insuring the Uninsurable
Update below. Controversy rages over the Obama administration’s mandate that all employers – including... Read More
The Snow Plowers’ Petition
The following might have happened in a small college town in upstate New York… In a cold and snowy... Read More
Super Bowl versus Education?
In the spirit of Super Bowl weekend I’d like to deconstruct a Facebook status update that a friend... Read More
Capitalism, Corporatism, and the Freed Market
When a front-running presidential contender tells the country that thanks to Barack Obama, “[w]e are... Read More
Creating Jobs versus Creating Value
Picking on New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is one of the largest participation sports on the Internet.... Read More
