What happened when Latin America’s most free economy elected a socialist? February 20, 2025 Chile was the most capitalist country in Latin America and had prospered as a result. But since the election of socialist Gabriel Boric in 2021, all that has changed, says Rainer Zitelmann My trip around the world took me to Chile twice, in May 2022 and November 2023. After you’ve been to countries like Colombia, [...]
How Sweden left socialism behind February 13, 2025 The myth of socialist Sweden persists but in fact it has left many of the policies of the 70s and 80s behind and become one of the most market-oriented societies in the world, says Rainer Zitelmann For decades, the production and sale of alcohol was heavily regulated by the state in Sweden. When it came [...]
How Albania went from Europe’s socialist poorhouse to a narco-state February 6, 2025 Albania was once a socialist backwater with just 1,265 cars in the whole country. And though living standards have improved considerably since that time, it’s failure to transform into a true market economy has handed power to drug lords and driven the brightest and best to emigrate, says Rainer Zitelmann I was in Tirana, the [...]
Lessons in liberty from Argentina and the Milei revolution January 30, 2025 Javier Milei is turning his country around, but just like Britain in the 1970s, things in Argentina had to deteriorate dramatically before capitalist reformers like him and Thatcher stood a chance, says Rainer Zitelmann During my visits to Argentina in 2022, 2023 and 2024, I had the opportunity to witness first-hand the movement that propelled [...]
The future is free market populism January 22, 2025 Javier Milei, Pierre Poilievre and, of course, Donald Trump are at the vanguard of a new movement for free-market populism gaining support across the world, says Fred de Fossard The inauguration of President Trump for his second term is the latest development in the trend of a new type of free-market populism gathering momentum across [...]
What does the world really think about freedom? January 22, 2025 On a round-the-world trip, Rainer Zitelmann conducted the most extensive ever survey of global attitudes to capitalism and the market economy. Over the coming weeks he’ll be sharing his insights with City AM Many people dream of travelling the world. Well, from April 2022 to December 2023, I went on a round-the-world trip that took [...]
How Poland and Vietnam escaped poverty October 17, 2024 In a new book, Rainer Zitelmann examines how Poland and Vietnam escaped the ravages of the Cold War to become some of the world’s fastest growing economies – and argues that poverty isn’t inevitable, it’s a policy choice says Kristian Niemietz Case studies in recent economic history typically deal with unambiguous success stories, or unambiguous [...]
What next for the Conservatives? July 5, 2024 After a sobering defeat, the Conservatives must find their soul again. How? By Thatcher’s advice: being for things, not just against them.