The Capitalist

The Capitalist, from CapX
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The Capitalist: where economics meets politics. New episodes every Wednesday. briefing.capx.co

  1. 3d ago

    Julian Jessop: Burnham's growth plan won't work

    Will the man who paints himself as the antidote to Thatcherism lead us back to the worst of the 1970s? This week on The Capitalist, as Britain’s borrowing costs spiked and Andy Burnham faced MPs as Prime Minister, Marc Sidwell spoke to the economist Julian Jessop about Burnham’s plans – and whether they can really get Britain back to growth. We discussed whether nationalisation is a recipe for reducing the cost of living, and Burnham’s curious belief that Britain’s current condition – with taxes at record levels and the state bigger than ever – can be labelled a failed experiment in neoliberalism. Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

    Julian Jessop: Burnham's growth plan won't work

  2. 4d ago

    Best of CapX: Why can’t Britain build data centres?

    ‘In Britain, we can force £100 million to be spent on a bat tunnel; imagine what our planning system will do with a gigawatt campus.’ Britain is the home of the first data centre, which helped us win the Second World War. James Price says that nowadays we can barely build them, thanks to Nimby complaints gumming up the planning system. The UAE is building data centres in the desert. Singapore is building them – despite real land and water constraints. We need to catch up. 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 Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

  3. Aug 26

    Jonn Elledge: how we invented the city

    This week on The Capitalist, Marc Sidwell speaks to the writer and CapX columnist Jonn Elledge. His new book ‘31 Inventions That Built Our World’, surveys the technologies – from sewers to lifts – that make urban life possible. They discuss what it takes to keep a modern city running, and whether we are losing our nerve when it comes to building twenty-first century infrastructure. They also talk about the PT Barnum stunt that convinced the public it was safe to ride in a lift, why nowhere on Earth held more than about a million people until the 1800s, the speed limit that stood in the way of commuting and why market pricing – not more regulation – is the answer to the mess we’ve made of urban space. Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

    Jonn Elledge: how we invented the city

  4. Aug 24 ·  Bonus

    Best of CapX: Red tape is a tax on time

    Compliance costs British business around £52 billion a year. Damian Pudner asks how much of that is wasted on rules nobody has bothered to think through? Every hour spent on paperwork is an hour not spent selling, investing or training staff. Ministers are held to account when they spend public money. They should face the same scrutiny when they spend everyone else’s time. 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 Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

    Best of CapX: Red tape is a tax on time

  5. Aug 20

    Dalibor Rohac: capitalism can save the West

    Are Nimbys a threat to national security? Britain’s inability to build houses and infrastructure is rightly at the heart of our domestic political debate. Dalibor Rohac thinks it needs to be seen as a geopolitical failing as well. This week on The Capitalist, Rohac, incoming director of research at Globsec, discusses his new book ‘Unshackled: How Economic Growth Can Defeat the World’s Dictators’. The conversation also covers how to defend Western institutions while still building fast, what Mancur Olson can tell us about vetocracy, whether letting China into the WTO was a mistake and why chasing foreign students out of American universities is an own goal. Rohac’s argument is that the accumulated sludge of special interests and regulatory stasis which reduces growth and stops houses and reservoirs being built has serious security implications – such as the shortfall in defence production across the alliance. Free markets can deliver in ways that more centralised systems cannot, but only if the shackles are taken off. He remains an optimist, on the grounds that free societies have a remarkable power for self-correction. But who will stand up as a new champion of the Western order? A new Reagan or Thatcher may be harder to find. Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

    Dalibor Rohac: capitalism can save the West

  6. Aug 17 ·  Bonus

    Despatch: A £3 trillion problem

    Britain's national debt has just passed £3 trillion for the first time – and John Penrose says it's time to get it under control. But while Andy Burnham ruled out breaking Rachel Reeves's fiscal rules to borrow more, he's asked his Chancellor to find 'wriggle room' within them. Penrose argues that what we need instead is full transparency about the state's liabilities. Any honest reckoning would include the future cost of the state pension, already running at over 220% of GDP. Rather than fudging the figures yet again, Burnham should build Britain a proper national balance sheet. With an honest set of numbers, we can finally have a proper conversation about how to reduce the stock of debt. 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 Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

    Despatch: A £3 trillion problem

  7. Aug 13

    Richard Hanania: Can you trust a populist?

    Richard Hanania had a ringside seat for the rise of MAGA, as his Substack essays on anti-woke issues gained traction at the highest level of the new American Right. He had high hopes for Donald Trump’s second term, and coined the term ‘Tech Right’, hoping for an administration that worked productively alongside some of the smartest people in Silicon Valley. In practice, he says the second Trump presidency has proved ‘a nightmare scenario’. Hanania’s new book ‘Kakistocracy’ is an attempt to understand what went wrong – and the wider lessons as populism continues to gain ground around the world. He argues that populists, for all their promises of overthrowing corrupt elites, often end up replacing a flawed system with something far more damaging – ‘rule by the worst’. On this model, elites can be foolish and subject to groupthink, but they are held in check by a status game that rewards honesty and truth-seeking. Populists, by contrast, gain power from their unfiltered relationship with voters, which makes corruption and lies easier to get away with, and encourages zero-sum thinking. But what about the pro-market successes of a populist like Javier Milei? And what are the risks for the UK, where Reform UK have a real prospect of forming the next government? This week on The Capitalist, Hanania gives his take. He doesn’t rule out the prospect that a party like Reform could bring in radical reforms that are good for Britain. But it is a strategy with a big warning label: once these forces are loose, nobody controls where they end up. Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

    Richard Hanania: Can you trust a populist?

  8. Aug 10 ·  Bonus

    Despatch: The flaw at the heart of the EU

    The recent Spanish border crisis – in which some 72,000 illegal migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco – should be a wake-up call for Europe, argues Mani Basharzad. Most of those who crossed the border soon returned home, but thousands remained and dozens died in the chaos. Even the most fervent Remainer ought to view these events with relief that Britain is no longer bound by the EU’s right to free movement. But Basharzad argues that the incident show a much wider failing in the EU: how the weakness of one member state can impose huge costs on the rest of the bloc. From fiscal policy to free movement, the union is rife with moral hazard. To rein in bad actors, it needs to restrict the benefits of membership to those who follow the rules. 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 Get full access to The CapX Briefing at briefing.capx.co/subscribe

    Despatch: The flaw at the heart of the EU
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
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About

The Capitalist: where economics meets politics. New episodes every Wednesday. briefing.capx.co

Information

  • Creator
    The Capitalist, from CapX
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    346
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © CapX
  • Show Website
    The Capitalist

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