The Capitalist

‘‘If there’s an insight in the book that I think is relatively novel, it’s that the coming tidal wave of car imports from China isn’t just about the finished car. It’s about the stuff that goes inside the car.’
Is the era of globalisation over? This week on The Capitalist, Marc Sidwell spoke to Ed Conway, economics and data editor at Sky News and author of Trade World, the follow-up to his bestseller Material World.
While protectionism is clearly on the rise – with Donald Trump’s tariffs as Exhibit A – Ed argues that it’s too soon to say that globalisation has peaked. Yet even if global trade keeps growing in the long run, he thinks we are at a moment where what we prioritise may be changing: giving more weight to security of supply rather than just cheap imports. Free traders would question whether the trade-off is really so simple – British factories benefit from cheap imports too, and access to global markets can protect against domestic shortages. But, he says, it’s a conversation we need to have more openly.
They also discuss why he sees the repeal of the Corn Laws as the Brexit of the 19th century, why the US-China trade war looks set to outlast Trump and why he thinks the real threat from Chinese car imports lies less in the finished cars than in the components inside them.


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‘The basis of this crisis is a very fundamental truth: it is politically easier to spend money than it is to raise it.’
This week on The Capitalist, Marc Sidwell speaks with veteran journalist Ross Clark about his new book, Britain is Bust: The coming sovereign debt crisis and what it will mean for you.
Debt interest cost the UK taxpayer £109 billion last year, no government has balanced the books in a quarter of a century and long-dated gilt yields have broken 6%. Clark argues the country faces a choice: cut spending now, on our own terms, or have far deeper cuts imposed by the bond markets, as Greece did in 2010.
They discuss why he thinks neither tax rises nor a growth strategy built on public spending can get us out of the hole, why welfare and the state pension can’t be off limits, and why Clark would cut the state pension by 10% to unwind the effect of the triple lock. Then they turn to the politics: why he doesn’t expect this Labour government to take a penny off welfare, why both the Conservatives’ and Reform UK’s plans fall short and whether voters can still be persuaded to back fiscal responsibility, as they did in 2010.


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‘And do we really think government is going to speculate better than the assembled forces of the world’s speculators? Or is it more likely to be the idiot player in the market that others then profit from, at the taxpayer’s expense?’
Tim Worstall reviews Isabella Weber’s new book, which supposedly celebrates and promotes anti-fascist economics. The Guardian is loving it. Yet Fascist economics was a system which was nominally capitalist, but with all aspects under close political control. Strange then that Weber's 'anti-fascist' economic prescription insists politicians should have far more power over prices.
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John Healey has delivered his first Budget as Chancellor. In this special edition of The Capitalist, Liam Halligan is joined by Daniel Herring, the Centre for Policy Studies’ Head of Economic and Fiscal Policy, to go through what was announced and what it means for taxes, growth and the public finances.


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'The best course would be to grip spending, not least on welfare, and use the savings to cut the deficit and taxes on business, that essential engine of growth.’
As John Healey delivers his first Budget, the markets will be watching closely, says Mel Stride. In all likelihood Healey will leave himself a very slender headroom, the smallest amount that markets will tolerate. Healey would be wise to reassure the markets further by at least signalling that significant welfare cuts are coming. But who would believe him?
Each week we bring you an example of the best writing from CapX, read aloud. For hosted conversations, listen to The Capitalist, every Wednesday.
Get full access to the CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co


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