Musings of a Libertarian

  In defence of Libertarian Environmentalism Concern for the natural world is too often percieved to be the preserve of leftist politicians and top-down State-centred solutions. We are told that capitalism has ravaged Mother Earth and that "de-growth" and enforced poverty is the answer. This lazy thinking could not be further from the truth. The data shows that the progress enabled by the spread of free market ideals and technological innovation gives us reason for hope: Thanks to fertilisers (the large scale production of which remains reliant on fossil fuels), mechanisation and the reinstating of private land ownership in much of Asia, crop yields are the highest they have been in history, while the total volume of land dedicated to agriculture has declined - with nature rebounding in many areas. Reforestation is on the up, particularly, but not exclusively in developed nations. In non-socialist economies, carbon emissions have declined with no concurrent decline in GDP. Ci...

  This week Reform announced that they would halt visas for nationals of countries demanding slavery reparations from the UK. In response, a number of Commonwealth politicians claimed that attempting to "punish" countries seeking "justice" for slavery would "harm and isolate" Britain. The United Kingdom's original role in establishing the transatlantic slave trade will forever be a stain on the history of this country, as a perpetrator of one of the most heinous crimes in history. Our role in the slave trade is rightfully taught in schools, as are the effects of the collectivist ideologies of racism and imperialism used to justify the practice. Less attention is given to the United Kingdom's leading role not just in abolishing the slave trade, but in enforcing abolition globally from 1807. While other nations continued enslaving their fellow man - with the Americans persisting until 1865 and Brazil until 1888 - the Royal Navy's West Africa squa...