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“The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that’s why it’s so essential to preserving individual freedom.” He forced back force by the power of argument. His epitaph might be: the pen is mightier than the sword. November 16th, 2006 | 13 comments - (Comments are closed)
 Perry’s posting on the Libertarian Alliance conference reminds me to tell you about two events, one indoors and one outdoors, that may appeal to those of a libertarian temperament or tendency. First up: less an event, more of an individualist free-speech happening. Monthly mass lone demonstrations. You can not just go along though; you have to fill in a form first. Mark Thomas explains. [Overseas readers: do follow the link, you may be astonished to discover how speech is regulated in New Britain.] The next occasion is next Wednesday. Second: a plug for The Battle of Ideas run by the Institute of Ideas in Kensington on the weekend of the 28th/29th October, under the slogan “Free speech is allowed”. I shall be taking part in what they are calling a Salon Debate [‘salon’ = ‘small’?] on The Surveillance Society, but there are many other attacks on state control and the tyranny of received wisdom to be enjoyed.
October 13th, 2006 | One comment - (Comments are closed)
This year’s Libertarian Alliance Conference will be on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th November 2006, at the rather splendid National Liberal Club in London. Details and on-line booking can be found here, but a word of warning… the event is filling up quite quickly this year and the number of tickets is finite so if you want to come, book soon to avoid disappointment. October 10th, 2006 | Comments are closed
Monday’s Globalisation Institute event had Andrew Mitchell MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, speaking about trying to get African countries to be more open to trade, not just with the developed world (he said sub-Saharan Africa’s share of world trade was only 2%, or a mere 0.6% if you do not count South Africa), but also to trade more between African nations. Currently African trade tariffs are amongst the highest in the world, leading to such absurdities as African countries imposing tariffs on Tanzanian-made anti-malarial bed nets. Mitchell described these correctly as quite literally ‘killer tariffs’. So far so good. Yet strangely the Right Honorable Member for Sutton Coldfield was also very keen to point out that taking an interest in African development is a cross party ‘British’ thing, not just a Tory thing and that his party fully supports increasing the amount of British taxpayers money the state wishes to generously give away in foreign aid to 0.7% of GDP. Why are Tories so desperate to make it clear that they represent continuity with Labour policies and sensibilities, even when addressing a room with a very high proportion of free marketeers? Mitchell was positively effervescent with enthusiasm about the stream of new and creative ideas being generated by Tory thinkers on the subject of international aid and yet I came away with the sense that this was just tantamount to saying “we have new and innovative ways to give away your tax-money and ‘engage’ with NGOs because we are just as clever as new Labour at thinking up ways to do that!”. Be still my beating heart. In short the event did little to change my thinking about the pointlessness of Andrew Mitchell’s party. But like all GI events, the company was congenial, the champagne delightfully cold and the venue most agreeable… 
July 26th, 2006 | 18 comments - (Comments are closed)
Last night, I snapped photos at the Globalisation Institute gathering at the Foreign Press Association, Carlton House Terrace, just off Trafalgar Square. Alex Singleton used a few of the snaps I took at the GI Blog, and several more of my snaps have also already appeared at Guido Fawkes. Said Guido:
Indeed it was. Here are some further snaps that Guido might have used, but didn’t.  
It was an impressive gathering, high both in quantity and quality of attendees, all chatting away merrily and sipping pink champagne. Also. a bloke spoke:  The bloke, a Conservative Shadow Minister, spoke about how free trade in Africa would be a good thing. NGO persons and other enemies prowled about, gnashing their fangs and wondering how to denounce this well-disposed and well-organised event. Potential donors also mingled, impressed. The GI is definitely going places. July 25th, 2006 | 5 comments - (Comments are closed)
For information on the public meeting on Regulation of Investigative Powers Act consultations, check out Blogzilla. July 19th, 2006 | Comments are closed
I attended the Emergency Event at the London School of Economics which was publicised by Perry earlier this week entitled “Freedom of Speech: Who cares what Muslims think”. There was a very small but vocal contingent of Samizdata supporters, agreeing with Claire Fox’s defence of the freedom of speech. The excellent chairman of the debate between Claire Fox and Sajjid Khan was fair and impartial. Many of the Muslims who commented during the debate stated their pain at the publication of the cartoons. It was clear that, despite the long period in time from the initial publication of the cartoons to the demonstrations, Muslims argued that this was a trespass upon the sacred. It was hard to gauge whether this reaction stemmed from belief or obligation, as the orthodox approach to the cartoons had now been established. Whilst Claire Fox located recent infringements and restrictions on free speech in the developments of left-wing politics from the 1970s, especially political correction and speech codes, Sajjid Khan said that there was a sphere of the sacred surrounding Mohammed. No person should ridicule, publish or draw Mohammed. In the first instance, non-Muslims should practice self-censorship in this regard, but the preferred tool for policing the sacred sphere was the law. He stated that respect for Islam would join other shared goals such as social justice and taking my money to care for the poor. Khan criticised Blair but he was quite clear that he did not want to change the system itself, only those who pulled the levers, so that respect for Islam would become a legitimate objective of a democratic society. Claire Fox argued that it was possible to hold a dialogue between Muslims and those whose default position supported liberty. This was not true in the debate. Our values are incommensurable as many Muslims clearly support using the law, if changed, to coerce my freedom of expression. The law would be used to prevent me from freely expressing myself on the subject of Mohammed, if I chose to do so, and rights of trespass on the sacred space would surely be decided by Muslims themselves, not by me. It is a depressing conclusion, since I had hoped that there could be common ground here on shared notions of liberty. That will not stop me trying, since this is one of the most important issues that we face. What matters is how individuals, whether Muslim or non-Muslim act, not those who would speak for or bind us all into simplified collectives called Islam or the West. UPDATE Adloyada argues that Sajjid Khan is, in fact, a member of Hizb ut Tahrir and presents compelling evidence.
Khan certainly did not declare this affiliation. February 18th, 2006 | 44 comments - (Comments are closed)
This looks like it could be interesting! London School of Economics Head-to-Head Sajjad Khan vs. Claire Fox February 14th, 2006 | 58 comments - (Comments are closed)
If you are free tomorrow evening and wish to sing carols in aid of Iraqi children and enjoy a spontaneous demonstration of faith, hope, joy and/or religious tolerance in defiance of Section 132 of the Serious and Organised Crimes and Police Act 2005, please check out Bloggerheads. December 20th, 2005 | 8 comments - (Comments are closed)
Like Brian Micklethwait, I have been at the annual conference of the Libertarian Alliance , held at the National Liberal Club, a glorious Victorian building erected at a time when Britain’s ruling Liberal Party (formerly the Whigs) was genuinely liberal in the classical sense of that word. Among the topics to fuel the mind: libertarian approaches to the environment, a debate about whether limited-liability companies were a good thing; the contribution to libertarian thought of Ayn Rand and reflections on private enterprise and defence. An excellent collection of subjects. As some regular readers will know, the founder and director of the L.A., Chris R. Tame, has been fighting cancer and made a great effort to be present throughout the entire conference. Anyone who knows and admires this clever, generous and tenacious man will not be surprised at his determination not only to set up this conference but also to set in train plans for future events. He received a surprise award celebrating his achievements on Saturday night’s banquet, and no-one deserved it more. Without Chris, it is probable that Britain’s present libertarian movement would not exist, and I don’t think I am writing out of turn in doubting whether Samizdata would be quite what it is now, either. November 20th, 2005 | 5 comments - (Comments are closed)
I have just spent the day at Liberty 2005, the Libertarian Alliance run conference being held over this weekend at the magnificent National Liberal Club. As well as listening attentively, I snapped photos. Here is speaker number three today, Syed Kamall MEP, in action:  And here is Gabriel Calzada who will be first up tomorrow morning:  Syed was most impressive, and I am confident Gabriel will be too. No time to elaborate now on what is actually being said at this gathering, but I hope I will manage to later. These two pictures, and another eighteen, at my place. November 19th, 2005 | 7 comments - (Comments are closed)
As already reported here, there are two conferences of possible interest to Samizdata readers this coming weekend, Novermber 19th-20th, in London. There is this one about the theory and practice of Rational Selfishness. And (as already reported here) there is the one I will rationally and selfishly be attending myself: Liberty 2005: The Annual London Conference of the Libertarian Alliance and the Libertarian International. The reason that I mention this latter gathering in particular today is that now is just about the last moment for booking yourself in to the banquet on the Saturday night. Sean Gabb needs to know by Wednesday at the very latest (so best to make that this evening) so that the National Liberal Club (a fantastic, must see before you die building, by the way) can be told the number of guests to cater for. If past versions of it are anything at all to go by, this banquet will be an excellent occasion, and a splendid opportunity to socialise with libertarians from all over the planet, so if you want to be there, email Sean Gabb now. Turning up on the day on the day to hear all the speakers, waving banknotes, is okay, and you will be made very welcome if you do that. But for the banquet, if you have not already booked, it is now or never. Sean tells me that the Conference is already sure to break even, but the more the merrier. It is a big place, as well as a great looking one. By the way, unless I am much mistaken, the relevant stretch of the Circle and District Underground line will not be in action (see para 5) over this weekend. Watch out for that. November 15th, 2005 | One comment - (Comments are closed)
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