John O’Hagan’s Blog

Terrorism is self-evident by its means. But as with the investigations into Fort Hood gunman Maj Hasan’s contacts with a cleric linked to al-Qa’ida, we increasingly see the term narrowed to mean acts committed for a particluar end, a weasel use of the word. Continue reading →

So Nick Minchin threatens to vote down carbon reduction laws because a majority of Liberals don’t believe climate change is influenced by human practices. This is no more nor less absurd than the countless other polls being conducted on the subject. Continue reading →

Any individual freedoms – even to own guns, and to trade freely – are in principle subcategories of libertarianism, by definition. But I think we all recognise that freedom is not so simple.

If someone beats me up and takes all my stuff, that’s an expression of their freedom; but I don’t think anyone who doesn’t live in a bunker full of canned beans would regard that as a legitimate one. Continue reading →

Chávez’s attempts to manipulate the electoral system to stay in power are egregious, but the hysteria he generates amongst the free-marketeers is a little overwrought. He’s not Hitler or Stalin. He’s not even Bush. How many wars did he start? How many people has he killed or tortured? He’s just messing with some people’s preferred economic system. Continue reading →

Much contemporary economics is underpinned by the ‘infallible market’ hypothesis. This hypothesis possesses an irrefutability rivaled only by religious convictions. Continue reading →

Rather than merely assuming that wage rises and labour regulations cause unemployment, as do many commentators, let’s look at the facts.

Many comparative studies have been done on this subject; Continue reading →