Is there progress in art?
There is a case for saying that there has been progress in such areas as science, medicine and engineering because we know what their aims are, but that there has been no ‘progress’ in art because it has no goal.
So glad we’ve now got farming sorted out then
This isn’t what Baroness Batters - formerly head of the National Farmers’ Union - means to say but it is what she does say: Batters said: “One of the long-term and growing challenges to farming is that land is often more profitable for anything else, other than producing food.”
When de minimis is no longer minimal
The essential starting point is that tariffs are only one part of the costs of trade. Transport’s another, being able to communicate between buyer and seller another and it’s possible to compile a list as long as a tariff schedule of further such costs.
Apologies, but we have bad news for the Princess Royal
The Princess Royal has said that the UK needs a “long-term vision” and “a coherent national programme” when it comes to building affordable rural housing.
After The Rose Garden 4: Fiscal Balance
It is unpleasant to admit it, but dear old Blighty has been a deadbeat for over a century. Our central fiscal characteristic is that we don’t pay our way.
The Guardian’s worried Argentina is going to work
Inflation means rising prices, which is hard to conflate with falling prices. On the other hand, if prices fall and wages don’t then real wages rise and poverty declines - which sounds like a fair enough plan to us.
Reducing knife crime
Reducing knife crime in the UK is a complex challenge, but there are several evidence-based approaches that can help. In practice, the most effective strategies could combine enforcement with prevention and community engagement
Why not, umm, lower the cost of legal waste disposal?
Philip Duffy, the agency’s chief executive, said: “Waste crime is toxic. Criminals’ thoughtless actions harm people, places, and the economy, blighting our communities and disrupting legitimate businesses.
The mental health legacy of the pandemic
The COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK were unprecedented in scale and impact. They fundamentally altered public behavior and psychology.
Trussell Trust is remarkably confused here
We don’t think much of the way poverty is measured these days - it confuses inequality with poverty - and most of the alternatives suggested are worse.
Why socialism doesn’t work
Socialism, when implemented as a political and economic system, has historically led to tyranny and persecution for several reasons: