Initially after reading this blog post over the weekend I didn't give it much though. Since then however it has produced a huge (and bitter) comment thread and responses like this, and I have to question what the outcome will be.
While I have met some of the individuals concerned I am not familiar with the details of the situation and don't have much to add, beyond that I do find Dr Gabb's recent pronouncements distasteful and likely to put off potential supports (while the less said about his new book the better).
However I do think this could potentially lead to a welcome rejuvenation of the organisation, and it taking a more active role than it has in the past.
While there are a huge number of free market think tanks and single issue groups, the LA (IMO) should be a kind of umbrella group providing a common thread to all groups interested in Liberty. In the past however it has not been that effective at promoting itself or its ideas (I only heard of it through the Samizdata blog). Compared to the Taxpayers Alliance the LA has had very little media impact or influence on public policy, while reaching out to the next generation seems not to be a priority either (the conferences I have been to have struck me as rather academic and full of middle aged men debating Hayek versus Friedman).
The challenge today is not so much is developing our ideas but spreading them beyond the Westminster village to the public at large. I hope the LA can overcome these difficulties and be good partners in spreading our message far and wide.
Why is it?
1 day ago
2 comments:
The LA is full of extremists, tin foil hat conspiracy theorists and general nutters (however academically intelligent some individuals within the organisation are).
The LA situation is not our argument. I hope it can be sorted so energies can be directed at the real enemy - the sort that would describe me as "extremist".
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