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In last week’s Insights, Oliver Hartwich talked about the dismal science but did not note the origins of the term. Economics came to be known as the dismal science because, during the mid-1800s, they worked with the Christian philanthropists of Exeter Hall to call for an end to British accommodation of foreign slavery. Read more

Allegedly economics is the ‘dismal science’. Indeed, if you believe the wife of one of the economists in our team, you should avoid the company of economists like the plague. Read more

It is an utterly ironic situation for Europe. Every bit of bad news for its economies is good news for asset markets. Read more

Adam Smith explained how the division of labour is limited by the extent of the market. When we have more people with whom to trade, we can all better specialise in our areas of comparative advantage. Read more

Last week I wrote that the euro crisis was not over -- far from it (The calm before the eurozone storm, 14 August 2014). However, having just read the latest article by Wolfgang Münchau, a fellow eurozone commentator and Financial Times columnist, I have to agree with his suggestion that we should no longer call it the euro 'crisis'. Read more

Democracy is a very fine thing, yet is worth dying for, and it is humbling to think of all those who have. Yet general election campaigns do not bring the populace's best instincts to the fore. Read more

A few weeks ago, while browsing pianos on TradeMe, I came across a Kawai upright with bids having just passed the reserve price of $4,000. An interested buyer had posted a public question to the seller offering to ‘buy now’ for $1,500, stating they ‘really wanted’ the piano but ‘couldn’t afford’ the minimum $4,000. Read more

A two-page feature in the Sunday Star-Times (Aug 3) says Labour’s promise to introduce a capital gains tax and raise the top rate of income tax has put “equality” back at the heart of economic and political debate. The only concept of equality the article considers is one where the ideal is that everyone gets the same income regardless of how hard or productively they work. Read more

Roughly coinciding with the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008, anti-capitalism has enjoyed a global renaissance. The critics of capitalism may be quite diverse, but for many of them rising wealth and income inequality is a commonly shared concern. Read more