A year on, thank you. There is more to come
A huge thank you to all paid and free subscribers to Fighting for a Free Future – there is much to do and we will announce next month how we will be stepping up
When I launched Fighting for a Free Future last summer, it was ironic that I needed the permission of a Government committee. That is the price of being a former minister: two years of requiring a licence for anything paid you might do – supposedly to protect the reputation of Government…
I think it is glaringly obvious that the Government’s reputation needs protecting in other ways: the country is in a deep mess, one worsening despite electing a party promising change for the better. It is increasingly clear that the old order of things is breaking down and something new is emerging.
The Principles for a Free Society
“Among the laws that rule human societies there is one which seems to be more precise and clear than all others. If men are to remain civilised or to become so, the art of associating together must g…
What is that decaying order and what comes next? What can people of good faith do?
First, let no one claim the old order embodies the principles of a free society.
We have not had limited government, low taxes, balanced budgets and sound money for many years. Over recent decades, public spending has grown far beyond sustainable revenues, with taxes at their practical limit and debt on an unsustainable path. Governments of all parties have relied on chronic credit expansion, underpinned by a fiat monetary system which allows banks to lend money into existence on a grand scale. And then there has been “quantitative easing” (colloquially, money printing). The result has been repeated boom–bust cycles, asset bubbles, the erosion of productive capital, massive economic injustice and declining faith in a market economy – outcomes entirely predictable from the Austrian theory of the trade cycle. Read more in the following article or my paper for Axiom.
Sound money is the cornerstone of a free society
During my 20s, serving as an engineer officer in the Royal Air Force, I took the institution of money for granted. Having left for the opportunity of the Dot-Com boom, I was reading for an MSc in Computation (computer science) at Oxford in 1999-2000, when the Dot-Com bubble burst.
Or read FFF Director, Harry Richer, on the myth of small-state Britain.
Spending Review: The Myth of Small State Britain
Decades of big government and state overreach have meant that spending reviews on the present scale are now the equivalent of scrubbing the decks on the Titanic as the ship is already sinking.
Moreover, in some parts of the country, it appears the law protecting children – which should have been applied to all with zero tolerance and without fear or favour – was not applied to ethnic minorities over fears of community tension. That is an outrageous failure of the state in its first duty to protect the innocent and vulnerable from crime. It is a catastrophic failure to uphold the rule of law, a fundamental pillar of justice in a free society. Justice demands one law, equally applied to all: any perception of double standards corrodes trust in institutions and fuels division. And so it has.
After years of suppressing difficult conversations about immigration and identity, the left-liberal elite has helped foment extraordinary tension and animosity across the country. We now face what Dr Steve Davies of the IEA calls “the great realignment”: politics is no longer ordered on the capitalist–socialist axis, but on a new divide between cosmopolitan-globalists and communitarian-nationalists. The ideal of free movement in Mises’ classical liberalism depended on limited government and private property: that is, no welfare state. In today’s interventionist welfare states, mass immigration without integration creates flashpoints over benefits, jobs and identity – and must be addressed realistically, without racism or collective guilt towards the innocent majority of migrants whose main offence was merely seeking a better life in the prevailing circumstances.
What is failing is a kind of big-state cultural authoritarianism masquerading as liberalism, which reached its peak under Tony Blair. His government’s programme of constitutional change, aggressive yet flawed equality law and politicised public services embedded identity politics into institutions and elevated technocratic governance over democratic accountability in a free society. These interventions were sold as “modernisation” but left a brittle settlement now unravelling.
The principles of a free society have not been upheld resolutely for many years – and we now face the blowback. To recover, we must consciously restore them.
Civil society. Civil society consists of voluntary associations outside the state, from families to charities, that bind us together. Civil society has been undermined by the growth of the state, with social capital declining as government programmes displace local initiative and community life: this is why David Cameron sought to build “The Big Society”.
Democracy. Democracy requires that people in power can be removed peacefully at the ballot box and replaced with someone less unsatisfactory. In recent years, authority for significant decisions has been handed to unaccountable officials in quangos and judicial interventions have eroded public faith in institutions.
Equality. Equality before the law is one of the standards of a free society. This has been breached when authorities apply the law differently in pursuit of equal outcomes and for fear of offending certain groups, as seen in the grooming gang scandal.
Free enterprise. Free enterprise has been eroded by corporatism and cronyism, with regulation and subsidies favouring politically connected firms over genuine competition.
Freedom. The sphere of individual action free from coercion is shrinking, with restrictions on peaceful protest and speech under legislation such as the disastrous Online Safety Act, which I opposed.
Human rights. Human rights should be universal and reciprocal safeguards for individuals, not privileges and entitlements for favoured identity groups.
Justice. Justice requires impartial enforcement of the law without fear or favour. In practice, policing is now seen as selective, with vigorous enforcement against some protesters and leniency toward others depending on political sympathies.
Peace. Peace at home depends on order based on consent. It has been weakened by violent protests, community tensions and a tendency to excuse disorder when politically convenient.
Private property. Private property underpins independence and social cooperation. It has been undermined by wide-ranging powers of entry, arbitrary planning restrictions, compulsory purchase orders and legislative changes.
The rule of law. The rule of law means one law for all, equally applied. It is breached when identity politics drives double standards in policing and sentencing.
Spontaneous order. Spontaneous order arises from free interaction, not central planning. It is harmed by the assumption that complex social and economic systems can be directed successfully from a centre.
Toleration. Toleration means the willingness to live peaceably with those with whom we deeply disagree, when they are doing us no harm. Relations have too frequently declined into irreconcilable hostility, with political opponents treated as enemies rather than fellow citizens.
That is why I am so grateful for readers’ support: people of good faith fighting for the principles of a free society.
In September, we will announce what we have achieved in recent months and enlarge the scope, reach, and impact of this project. This marks the exciting next stage of the Fighting for a Free Future project. There is a huge amount to be done to fight for a free future that delivers prosperity and a society at ease with itself – one that works for everyone.
We will be inviting you to join us in that work. Let’s keep fighting for a free future, together.
References
Nigel Ashford, Principles for a Free Society – definitions and explanations of civil society, democracy, equality, free enterprise, freedom, human rights, justice, peace, private property, the rule of law, spontaneous order and toleration.
Detlev Schlichter, Paper Money Collapse – the folly of elastic money, the historical record of commodity money and the destabilising effects of credit expansion.
Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism in the Classical Tradition – defence of private property and its role in sustaining a free society.
Steve Baker, “Zero tolerance is the answer to child sexual exploitation” (CapX) – case study of failures to enforce the law impartially in grooming gang cases.
Steve Baker, Honest Money and Social Progress - a paper for Axiom on the importance of Bitcoin infrastructure, setting out unsustainable UK fiscal policy, the limits of taxation and the dangers of monetary expansion.
Steve Baker, Racism is running riot – the need for equal application of the law and rejection of identity-based double standards.
Steve Baker, Immigration, integration and social cohesion – a classical liberal view on free movement and why it fails under interventionist states.
Sound. Looking at this from a Nozickian view, I would put property rights at number one, whereby other liberties can flow and the state's role -- as a protector of those rights -- can be justified.
Great review Steve. I am new to this platform but enjoy the cut and thrust of debate. I have always admired your principled politics but like all MPs your following of party line is a hinderance to that free thought and expression of right and wrong. We, the general public now view politicians as inept liars, who say one thing to follow a party line and another to themselves. We can see right through that stone face. How they keep blurting out untruths with a straight face, tells me they would say anything if it meant being a further notch up the totem pole. I do feel you tried to navigate that swamp as best as you can so, for that you have my thanks Steve. But,take my advice, call a spade a spade. If a colleague is talking rubbish, don’t hesitate to tell him and us. And stop trying to blame the others if the real blame lies with your party. We see it! And it’s not a good look. You are all less believed than estate agents, door to door salesmen and second hand car dealers! So pass it on…. Do the right thing, say the right thing and mean what you say. It’s so much more refreshing when you do. That said, I would like to help you! Because, you are worth my effort Steve and I know others want you to succeed also. I for one wish you the very best of luck. …. I hear all you say in your review. You are correct in pretty much everything, to a degree, but one thing is missing. The answer we need to our economic problems. Everyone and their dog knows we are in deep. We owe £3,000,000,000,000.00 trillion pounds and counting. Some economists reckon it could be double that! But whatever the position, it’s biblical! …. For decades (mainly your Torry government) we have not had a balanced financial position. Money is spent stupidly and poorly and sometimes fraudulently. Other times they try to uphold the best of our Britishness with welfare, benefits and a wish for a working NHS. But honestly, it’s clear no one really has a scooby doo how to run a nation. Politicians have been poor, inept, lazy and most promoted to a level of incompetence. But!…. I can see a way out. And I want you to be a thinker when it comes to my theory as it’s definitely counterintuitive. So you must think outside of the normal blinkered way most have herded their options up to now. It’s clear to all and dawning on the establishment that whatever they thought would work, hasn’t! No matter what economist, or think tank or monetary policy advisor or scholar you have read or listened to they, say the same things but in different ways. And I fear you may follow such a pattern but, I urge you to ‘clear the decks’ of your mind and just think it through. So here goes, I hope you can follow my thinking. …Steve, unless the government of whatever colour gets the economy working , it will never pay for the needs of the people or the aspirations of any true leaders. Forget economists of the past or the doctrines already exhausted. They are out of date and proved to be a failure. No one has given a clear answer or explanation. Mainly because….. they couldn’t! It’s not for the lack of trying. Every clear brilliant thinker couldn’t square the circle. So I don’t blame them. But modern thinkers? …. I do blame! Because they need to use their own God given brains. But, their obsession and need to read every book under the sun still gets them looking in the wrong direction. If all the authors of the past were clever then surely the odds are that someone would have got it right by now, eh? But no, we still have a mess. So, the one thing we have now that scholars of the past didn’t have, is digital currency and electronic accounts and payment cards! If they were alive today, I’m sure, all would revise their thinking. As now, we can track and trace every penny as long as all the digital money stays in the UK. In house. Thatcher wrongly, took away Exchange Control Regulations in 1979. Thinking, no doubt, that more money would flow in to the UK. But over time that strategy has spectacularly backfired. More flows out!! She sold off the family silver and allowed our industrial leadership to decline to failure. That started our decline into globalism and our debt ridden position now. Post Brexit we can now put back those controls and keep all money in house. We can exchange the old currency and money for a new digital electronic currency. We can see who has it, where they got it and make sure they are entitled to it! In any case we can bring back all our currency. It’s said there is maybe 18-19 trillion pounds in the aether, so let’s get it back! Without it we are stuffed. But, with it we can launch the biggest turn around in fortunes the world has ever seen. Goods can flow but money can’t. Even foreign interests must have a uk account and subject to the same rule. Put a ‘spend by date’ on all digital money, or part of the money at least. This will create a tsunami of SPENDING that will fill the coffers of the exchequer with so much, they’ll think that money tree had just given its first fruit!…as the money rotates with SPENDING tax will be triggered exponentially time and time again as it moves around us all. It will immediately turn this position around. We can do away with all taxes say for VAT which van be easily adjusted as it plays out. So,no more borrowing. No more cuts and no more tax increases and enough money to raise all our expectations. It would be totally autonomous and perpetual as we can track and trace every penny. Those who don’t SPEND or can’t be bothered will have their money taken, by the exchequer, to credit the nations purse. Wages will rise, pensions will rise and can be double treble or more! Benefits can be more also, but more importantly wages can have a clear gap upwards! To show work pays! We can’t have a pension be half a minimum wage again. Or have benefits that pay more than working! No! No more!! And ironically, the rich will be richer! With all that SPENDING they can’t fail to earn more. You see, I’m a capitalist at heart. I want to be able to earn as much as I can. But, I want to SPEND it and enjoy it. And know it will come back in next week. Not worry it won’t! Up to now we have had a ‘faith hope and charity’ monetary policy. Faithfully work and hope you get paid enough! Hope when you have to pay your way, it does come back. And charity if it doesn’t! That’s not good enough for a modern democracy. Steve, it will transform our economy instantly. No taxes other than vat. Spending so business will always have a best chance to thrive and a tax take that’s more than we need! Think of how a government can at last plan properly for the benefit of all. Streamline government. One pension, a fabulous state pension. One bank not fifty! No interest rates to pay as we won’t need to borrow beyond a house or a car and why pay interest? Just pay back the capital each time. As we know we can earn enough. One electric company one gas company etc etc all properly funded by our own efforts off the framework of SPENDING. …To show you in simple terms Steve, I have an equation that represents this simple need. MS=R MONEY multiplied by SPENDING equals REVENUE including Tax REVENUE. No business and no economy can work without two components. MONEY and SPENDING. And no tax can be triggered or collected without both. It’s that simple. And now we can have our cake and eat it. Working back from our needs as a government to take tax receipts sufficient to pay our way, we must calculate the spending that is required divided by the money in circulation to know what is required of our economy. Not like now as we all work with the ‘faith hope and charity’ version! We can be sure of enough revenue. And it’s as simple as MS=R. Have a think and a debate about a real answer and pathway. A new but simple framework for a monetary utopia. It’s clear we can’t go on with their ( the governments) heads in the sand. We need to explore alternative solutions, not just more of the same old cuts, increased taxes or borrowing. At present we are in debt to all those who hold our money out of our daily reach. We borrow more to pay the interest. Just to make the few rich, richer. While we all get poorer. 95% of money is held by just 5% of people. Thats unsustainable and unfair and undemocratic. Why are we borrowing our own money back!!?? It’s total madness. We have a blinkered almost blind adversity to do anything else. Why are we limiting our vision? No wonder we can’t make ends meet? We have 95% of people fighting over just 5% of money! Thats just plain stupid. Please let me know your thoughts ?