Holly Mackay and Hunter Georgeson have joined the ASI as gap-year employees. We asked them to write this post to introduce themselves to our readers. Holly:
Having said in my interview that my favourite book was Harry Potter, I was both extremely surprised and delighted to find out that I’d landed one of the coveted gap year internship positions at the Adam Smith Institute. After finishing my A-Levels in Politics, Economics and Maths, I desperately wanted to fill my year with something that would hopefully allow me to build on my interest in those subjects, and working at the ASI is the perfect opportunity to do so. Three weeks in, I’ve already had a fantastic time; I can’t wait for the rest of the coming year here.
I am an enthusiastic advocate of the ASI’s forward-thinking libertarian stance, and as Margaret Thatcher’s no. 1 fan, it’s a dream for me to have the opportunity to work with the masterminds behind some of her policies. As well as championing greater economic freedom, I also subscribe to the belief that individual liberties on social issues should be maximised too. I have already written my first blog post from this perspective, arguing in support of the Assisted Dying Bill, and I look forward to exploring so many more topics that are currently pressing British politics. Some of my personal interests include education, particularly in the wake of high levels of immigration and how we should cope with expanding demand, and how a freer market can actually be fairer for everyone- the Bleeding Heart Libertarian within me fully supports ASI campaigns to lower taxes for the poorest, get rid of the National ‘Living' Wage, and reduce regulations on businesses to allow entrepreneurs to flourish and create higher earnings for everyday workers.
I’m so excited to learn more from my colleagues here at the ASI; their energy and hard work is hugely inspiring, encouraging me to look at economic problems from angles I’ve never considered before. I greatly admire the work the ASI does, especially its outreach to students and young people, and I look forward to being able to contribute myself.
Hunter:
Very aware that an entire year without a definite plan would become a sort of spiritual black hole, I leapt at the opportunity to apply for the ASI's internship programme. After my first week here, I find it difficult to imagine that my time could be any better spent.
I did A-levels in subjects (English Literature, History, and Maths) that limited my ability to ask big questions – there's only a certain extent to which you can explore the deeper political philosophy behind Thatcher's privatisation reforms when you're studying the history of modern Britain. Although the ASI's work is on policy reform, there is behind the scenes a rich discourse on the ground-up basis for the free-market, libertarian perspective. It's very exciting to be around people who feel just as strongly about explaining their own ideas and hearing new ones as I do.
My own introduction to the liberal-right perspective came with reading, firstly, Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, and later, Mill's On Liberty. I found the simplicity of the principles underlined by the authors refreshing, whilst the few nuances and inconsistencies only drove me onto further reading. My particular interests include the problem of whether we can, or should, regulate against monopoly in a market economy, and the idea of more localised government systems, specifically with regard to the fostering of competitive forces between regional health-systems - like in Sweden.
Outside of academia, I'm the drummer in a band called Topknot (it's ironic, I promise!), and spend a lot of time working towards my ultimate goal of becoming an ascetic.