The more free markets save lives, the more sceptical people become:
That graph borrows from this CapX article last week, ‘5 Graphs That Will Change Your Mind About Poverty.’ This video by PragerU from last week presented by Arthur Brooks is also fantastic, showing how government welfare programs don’t reduce poverty rates.
Malcolm Turnbull’s 18C announcement on Tuesday is an important step towards restoring freedom of speech in Australia – but the issue is not resolved. As Morgan Begg wrote in The Spectator Australia yesterday, “the only way to guarantee section 18C doesn’t infringe on freedom of speech is to repeal 18C entirely.” And today in Online Opinion medical doctor Michael Keane says 18C is worded so poorly that even Stan Grant could have breached it.
Watch our video from November last year presented by Simon Breheny on how the case against the late, great Bill Leak shows why 18C must be repealed:
And it could get even worse. The Australian this morning reported that Labor is planning to extend the reach of litigation based on 18C to complaints based on gender, disability or age. This is a reboot of the Gillard government’s failed Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 – read our factsheet from then here about why these ideas are so dangerous.
Since its rise to prominence, we’ve been sending you links from the hit blog Dilbert. Here’s a masterclass in Dilbert creator Scott Adams’ analysis of the persuasive power of language. First read this 3,600 word profile of Adams in Bloomberg from Wednesday – and then read the 16 pieces of fake news from the Bloomberg article that Scott Adams’ identifies at his blog. My favourite is number 13.
This week’s long read is this 3,700 word article from Jon Baskin in The Chronicle of Higher Education. It’s about how the Claremont Review of Books became the intellectual home of Trumpism after the famous “Flight 93 Election” essay in September 2016 by Publius Decius Mus.
By now I expect every single reader of Hey to be a subscriber to The Young IPA Podcast, which I host along with Peter Gregory. Crikey said it’s a must listen if you want to be “overwhelmed by smugness“. Crikey are always good for a pull quote. If you want to see me be “actually a decent performer” catch me in Improv Against Humanity at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival from April 10.
Article of the week:
Dan Hannan in The Washington Examiner from Monday on how American politics has become a sporting match, with people blindly barracking for their side.
IPA Staff Pick:
Each week an IPA staff member shares what they have enjoyed recently. Today: Matthew Lesh
Last week in London I attended a debate which pitted conservative luminary and leading Brexiteer Michael Gove against economist Jonathan Portes, on the appropriate role of experts in the public sphere. The feisty and entertaining discussion brought to light the importance of scepticism, debate, and questioning simplistic appeals to authority.
Here’s what else the IPA said this week:
- Matthew Lesh, Campus censorship ratchets up – The Spectator Australia
- Brett Hogan, Like it or not, coal is still king – The Spectator Australia
