UK must turn around the ship of state towards economic freedom March 12, 2023 Dr Rainer Zitelmann is a historian and sociologist. In this guest essay, he argues the UK is slipping down the list of free countries in a new global index Last year, the UK received its worst rating in the Index of Economic Freedom since 1995, when the index was first calculated. This year’s rating is [...]
In Defence of Capitalism: How free markets are lifting people out of poverty March 8, 2023 In the second of an eight part series, the historian and sociologist Dr Rainer Zitelmann writes for City A.M. in defence of capitalism, arguing that freer markets are usually the answer to society’s problems, not the cause. Each week he will ‘myth-bust’ the common complaints about capitalism – and this week, it’s that capitalism is responsible [...]
In Defence of Capitalism: Why free markets can keep driving billions out of hunger and poverty March 1, 2023 In the first of an eight part series, the historian and sociologist Dr Rainer Zitelmann writes for City A.M. in defence of capitalism, arguing that freer markets are usually the answer to society’s problems, not the cause. Each week he will ‘myth-bust’ the common complaints about capitalism – and this week, it’s that capitalism is [...]
The EU’s plans for a ‘social sustainability’ taxonomy are a dangerous intervention February 16, 2022 A few weeks ago, there were heated discussions in the European Union about the so-called “taxonomy,” which will give the EU Commission and European authorities the power to determine which investments are good (i.e. green and sustainable) and which are not. The classifications issued in Brussels would then steer investors’ money in the “right” direction. [...]
No, not that German election: An anti-capitalist referendum on rent prices September 29, 2021 Entrepreneurs can breathe a sigh of relief and stay in Germany without having to worry about emigrating. At least for now. A government made up of Germany’s three biggest left-wing parties was narrowly averted in Sunday’s elections. Narrowly is the operative word, because the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and Die Linke (the former communist [...]
Analysis: Last German state election could provide clues to Bundestag poll itself June 8, 2021 What does the last state election before Germany’s Bundestag poll tell us about the future of the country’s politics – and the EU? German historian and sociologist Rainer Zitelmann takes a look. On Sunday, elections were held in Saxony-Anhalt – one of the five former East German states. The election had long been the subject [...]
Capitalism is the solution, not the problem, when we look at climate change June 5, 2021 One of the most frequently raised arguments against capitalism is that it is the primary driver of environmental pollution and climate change. But if we compare Yale University’s ranking of countries with the highest environmental performance with the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, a very different correlation emerges. Read more: In the lead up [...]
The Green Party candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as Chancellor could control a fiercely left-wing German Government April 20, 2021 For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Green Party has nominated a candidate in the race to be Chancellor and succeed Angela Merkel. This morning, the party announced 40-year-old Annalena Baerbock to stand in the September 27 election. After Merkel’s Christian Democrats, the Greens are polling in second [...]
Review: How socialism became the failed idea that never dies March 6, 2021 German writer and economist Rainer Zettleman looks at a new book on the enduring – and illogical – appeal of socialism Why have socialist ideas once again developed such a strong appeal, even though every single socialist experiment over the past 100 years has failed? British economist Kristian Niemietz provides an answer in his book Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies. He cites over two dozen socialist [...]
Von Der Leyen’s vaccine strategy violates the EU’s founding principles February 9, 2021 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has conceded that individual countries could have vaccinated their populations quicker had they acted alone rather than relying on the EU’s collective vaccine purchase and distribution program. She has effectively acknowledged that her vaccine procurement programme violated a fundamental principle of the European Union’s founding treaties. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has published an op-ed in the leading German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “I ask myself the same questions every day: Could we have been much [...]