CNE Monatsmagazin Digest
June 2008

English Summary

On the road again: Again? No. This was the first time for the Free Market Road Show in Europe. Organized by the Vienna-based Hayek Institut and several partner institutes in Portoroz, Berlin, Prague and Brussels, the road show had conferences in all five places. Among the list of world-renowned speakers were nobel laureate Robert Mundell, pension reform specialist José Pinera (International Centre for Pension Reform) and former Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar.

Viva Las Vegas: The FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Nevada, takes place from July 10-12, 2008. A great trade show for liberty and a perfect opportunity to talk, strategize, socialize, and celebrate liberty. The theme this year is "8 Great Debates in '08?". Christopher Hitchens ("God Is Not Great") and Dinesh D'Souza ("What's So Great About Christianity?") discuss "War, Terrorism & Geo-Political Crisis: Is Religion the Solution or the Problem?" Other debate topics include: Can You Beat the Market With Less Risk?; Islam: Radical or Peaceful?; Single Payer National Health Insurance: Yes or No?; and Should the World Return to the Gold Standard?

You are so beautiful: Hardy Bouillon comments on the characterization of liberalism by Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. "There are many ways to help mankind to survive. One is to understand and interpret real liberalism, i.e. the foundation of a free and peaceful world, as good as possible. It is less than helpful to blame liberalism for beeing utopian where it is not, for good reasons", says Bouillon.

Fool(s) on the hill: Edgar Gaertner comments on careless nihilism in environmental issues and pleas for competition in problem solving approaches. "Freedom of belief and freedom of speech as well as competition among different problem solutions are the key requisites for society's adaptation to unforeseen changes likes earthquakes and climate changes", says Gaertner.

Highway to hell: Hardy Bouillon pleas for more critical methodological reflexions in climatology. The debate as it stands overcharges the results in the science of climate change. The science is by far too young. Most of the fundamental questions are neither sufficiently discussed nor clearly separated, Bouillon said.

Save the last word for me: To say that the authorities' failure to set more prudent reserve requirements provided the opportunity for banks' profligacy is beside the point, says Stephen Pollard. The authorities' failure "did not force banks to be reckless. I have, for instance, a card with a credit limit which seems to me preposterously high. But I choose instead to pay off my bill in full every month. Were I to make use of the full extent of my available credit and 'invest' it on the horses, would that mean that it was the card company's fault when it all went wrong, because they didn't stop me behaving like an idiot? Certainly the company would have a share of the responsibility, and its pleas for recompense when I lost the money would deserve to be met with deaf ears. But the real responsibility would be mine."

Click here to view the full Monatsmagazin in German.

Dr. Hardy Bouillon is Head of Academic Affairs at the Centre for the New Europe.