Episode 013
Restoration and radical reform
Douglas Carswell
0:00
Show notes
Douglas Carswell is a British politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2017, first as a Conservative before defecting to UKIP in 2014. A prominent Brexit campaigner and co-founder of Vote Leave, he now runs the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank in the United States. Carswell is known for his advocacy of democratic reform, limited government, and economic freedom.
Calum and Tom talk to Douglas Carswell about:
- Douglas's experience in Mississippi where free-market reforms have accelerated economic growth beyond the UK's
- How Britain's "Blairite Ascendancy" of 30 years has empowered unaccountable experts and regulatory bodies that block elected officials from governing effectively
- A detailed blueprint to restore executive power through orders in council, civil service reform, and judicial restraint
- Proposals for public spending cuts of £170 billion and tax reductions including abolishing tariffs, lowering VAT, and reducing income taxes
- Addressing immigration through tighter controls and a voluntary "re-migration" program for non-contributors
- The cultural dimensions of Britain's troubles and the need to reassert Anglo-American values against cultural relativism
- How these reforms could unlock British innovation and prosperity if leaders have the courage to endure short-term pain
Listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and Substack. Produced by Aeron Laffere.
Further reading
Milestones: Nine steps to restore Britain - the essay outlining Douglas Carswell's detailed proposals
Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland - Mentioned by Carswell as influential to his understanding of Western values
Looking for Growth campaign - A UK initiative advocating for policies to boost British economic growth
Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson - Explores how political institutions impact economic success
The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg - Examines the changing relationship between individuals and the state
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt - A classic text on free-market economics
State Capacity Libertarianism by Tyler Cowen - A blog post that reimagines libertarianism with a focus on effective government
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