The Capitalist

In this special live discussion, Mervyn King, Lord King of Lothbury, and Terry Burns, Lord Burns, reflect on the economics and politics of the Lawson boom, chaired by Daniel Mahoney. Drawing on their first-hand experience working with Nigel Lawson, they revisit one of the most consequential periods in modern British economic history.

Presented in front of a live audience, the discussion touches on the inheritance of 1970s inflation and the controversial 1981 Budget, tax reform, monetary targeting, exchange-rate policy, and the late-1980s boom and bust. King and Burns challenge the myth that the 1988 Budget alone caused the Lawson boom, arguing instead that prolonged low interest rates, financial deregulation, data misreads, and global conditions played a decisive role.

Looking forward, they connect these lessons to today’s debates on inflation after Covid, the role of money and fiscal discipline, supply-side reform, and the growing strain on central bank independence. A timely, candid exchange between two architects and critics of Britain’s modern macroeconomic framework – and a crucial reminder of how hard-won credibility must be renewed.
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As calls grow louder to cap personal fortunes, a new philosophy – “limitarianism” – argues that no one should be allowed to be rich beyond a fixed limit. In this essay, Tim Worstall, Senior Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, takes aim at the idea, arguing that it rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of how wealth, value and incentives actually work. From Mark Zuckerberg to global inequality, he makes the case that extreme riches are not a social failure, but often the by-product of innovations that benefit billions – and that banning wealth would leave society poorer, not fairer.

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As Robert Jenrick defects to Reform UK, pressure is mounting on the Conservative Party to chart a new course. In this episode of The Capitalist, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg joins Marc Sidwell to dissect the fallout — and to make the case for a pre-election pact between Reform and the Tories.

One of the party’s most recognisable figures, Rees-Mogg argues that Kemi Badenoch has emerged strengthened, but warns that division on the Right could lead to catastrophe. Drawing on the historical precedents of 1918 and 1931, he outlines how a pact might work in practice — and why, in his view, the future of the Right depends on swift, strategic unity.
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Robert Jenrick’s dramatic defection to Reform UK has blown open long-simmering tensions on the British Right — and handed Kemi Badenoch a serious test as Conservative leader. In this essay, Joseph Dinnage, deputy editor of CapX, dissects the intrigue behind Jenrick’s dismissal, the risks Badenoch took in cutting him loose, and the uncertain gains for Nigel Farage’s insurgent party. It’s a story of ambition, loyalty and timing — and one that may yet reshape the balance of power on the Right.

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What happens when a regime shuts off the internet — and then turns its guns on its own people? For the IEA's Mani Basharzad, the question is deeply personal: he hasn't heard from his mother or friends in Iran for days. As the country plunges into its most violent crackdown in decades, reports of mass killings, information blackouts and nationwide protests raise a stark question: is the Islamic Republic finally losing control?

In this urgent episode of The Capitalist, Joseph Dinnage speaks to Mani about what an internet shutdown really means on the ground, why this wave of protests feels fundamentally different from those that came before, and how a broad coalition of Iranians — rich and poor, secular and religious — are rallying around the prospect of regime change. Mani explains the role of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the economic collapse hollowing out the state, and why this movement is less a revolution than a fight to reclaim basic normality.
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