Episode Archives

Are Today’s Socialists Any Different?

April 28, 2020 Andrew Elliott 00:33:19

In this episode, Andrew asks whether today’s socialists, who try very hard to distance themselves from the socialists of the past, are really any different?

What are today’s socialists promising that yesterday’s didn’t promise in the past? And are their methods any different? If not, why should we expect any different outcomes?

Nic then asks if we can apply the same logic to centrists. To do this, we discuss the different types of centrists, and ask whether you can have a hard and a soft centrist, and what distinguishes them.

We also talk about how the private sector is far better at adapting to changes in demand than the public sector and how the current Covid19 crisis has shown government run institutions to be very slow to react.

Photo by Kirill Sharkovski on Unsplash

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CDC Infectious Tests, Rushed UK Law and Stagnant NHS

April 24, 2020 Andrew Elliott 00:35:11

As the CDC accidentally infect those they are testing for SARS-CoV-2, the UK Government amends its initial regulations governing the lockdown, but as well as closing some loopholes, opens some new ones.

We discuss whether this kind of law making can ever work, and whether centralised health provision by the state produces anything other than problems.

Will the NHS ever introduce modern methods of healing such as the use of Oxygen, as used in the private sector?

Was the rush to build new ventilators really necessary now that some clever medical thinking is improving how sufferers breathe?

Will either of us actually take a government sanctioned vaccine when one becomes available, or should we just take our chances?

And is there a danger that while stuck in our homes, we might get stuck in other, more awkward places?

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

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Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

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Our NHS – Operation Human Shield

April 22, 2020 Andrew Elliott 1:04:53

In another Lockdown edition, we talk about Boris’s message to the public on leaving the hospital, and how he’s positioning himself as not just the ultimate centrist, but the ultimate NHS Tory.

Just how much of GDP will be taken up by the NHS in the future?

Will the government’s handling of the pandemic mean that Labour are a shoe in at the next election? Or are any new labour leaders just filling a vacancy and nothing more.

Can Operation: Human Shield last long enough to allow some new ventilators to be approved by the UK’s cumbersome regulatory regime?

Photo by Hello I’m Nik 🎞 on Unsplash

——

Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

Web: https://soundingboard.com

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COVID-19: The Economy, The New Laws and The Libertarian Option

April 14, 2020 Andrew Elliott 01:03:25

In the second of our locked down podcasts, we discuss (as expected) the latest news around COVID-19.

We start by differentiating between SARS-COV-2 (The latest coronavirus from China) and COVID-19 (the respiratoty disease caused by the virus) before moving on to the economy and the effects it has had, and will have on our lives in the future.

We then discuss the new laws that have just been put in place and how overzealous police forces are taking it upon themselves to enforce more than the laws themselves.

Finally, we chat about what may have happened under a more liberal, libertarian system. How would people react if they knew the government wouldn’t interfere in their lives? Would people finally be able to think for themselves?

You can find Hector Drummond’s blog, by clicking here.

The new legislation for the UK lockdown can be found by clicking here.

Photo by Pille-Riin Priske on Unsplash

——

Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

Web: https://soundingboard.com

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Remember, you can now subscribe on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzAT–UxzErq_UU5SCUtFg

Please reach out to us on Twitter:

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Nic: https://twitter.com/MrNicElliott

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Regulation: Changing attitudes and Unintended Consequences

April 13, 2020 Andrew Elliott 00:57:00

In the first of our lockdown editions, we focus on regulation.

Are we seeing a change in attitudes towards regulation? As swathes of regulations and licences are suspended or temporarily rescinded due to Covid-19, are people finally realising that regulation can be a bad thing? Even though draconian restrictions on movement and business have been brought in, supposedly to deal with the pandemic, are we showing that regulations get in the way of business and cause more harm than good?

We also talk about the unintended consequences of the state creating rules and regulations before talking about how the lockdown is affecting people and how the police are going far beyond their remit.

You can find Hector Drummond’s blog, by clicking here.

Coronavirus Shows Our Reliance On The ‘Precautionary Principle’ Has Ruined Our Ability To Manage Risk: https://science20.org/david-zaruk/20200320/coronavirus-shows-our-reliance-precautionary-principle-has-ruined-our-ability

Photo by Giammarco Boscaro on Unsplash

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Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

Web: https://soundingboard.com

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This edition can be found here: https://youtu.be/8QX-WiCBisw

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Covid-19 State Expansion, Everyone’s a Right Winger and Panic Buying Baileys

April 5, 2020 Andrew Elliott

Our last recording before the lockdown, we explore Commander Sunak’s budget-busting spending pledges in reaction to the Coronavirus, and whether no one is a Libertarian in a pandemic, or conversely everyone is.

With the lockdown rules about to be announced, we explain how the government’s response is an entirely right wing one, and why the left wing opposition waved through the budget – no questions asked.

We explore the politics of post-Covid-19, and how Boris can become the Ultimate Centrist off the back of all this spending.

How important is democracy? Should you be panic buying Baileys? And don’t you just wish we were all talking about Brexit again?

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

——

Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

Web: https://soundingboard.com

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This edition can be found here: https://youtu.be/CHTFtqdw27o

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Are Humans Instinctively Collectivist?

March 20, 2020 Andrew Elliott 00:31:56

In this edition, Nic asks whether human beings inherently want to collectivise.

We ask the further questions: If this is indeed the case, is it built in? Or is it the result of indoctrination?

We mull over what collectivism really means, and if it’s compatible with a libertarian society.

We then talk about collectivisation in action, with examples of public sector contracts, before talking about how failing (and, in particular, failing quickly) can help businesses. Something that is absent from state bureaucracies.

Photo by William White on Unsplash

——

Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

Web: https://soundingboard.com

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This edition can be found here: https://youtu.be/EKCpUyVrs8I

Please reach out to us on Twitter:

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Difficult Questions for Libertarianism

March 12, 2020 Nic Elliott 00:42:33

Libertarianism isn’t an endpoint for how society should operate. It’s a beginning. How a libertarian society should operate isn’t known. Indeed, because of its inherent freedom, many competing ways would probably exist.

Because of this, libertarianism has some tough questions to tackle. Whilst we don’t claim to have all the answers, we never shy away from asking the tough questions. In this edition, we ask ourselves about some difficult moral conundrums.

Photo by Emiliano Bar on Unsplash

——

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This edition can be found here: https://youtu.be/7QdpIwLZ1hA

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Changing One Thing About the State & The Dominance of the Left

March 6, 2020 Andrew Elliott 01:02:02

What would it be? Not abolish the state entirely, but make one change to it and the way it works.

Would it be simple and maybe cliché and just privatise the NHS, or would you want to abolish state education?

How about the way we pay tax? Or how we deal with private property?

These are just some of the examples we talk about this week, as we get into some “what if” scenarios about our pet project of trying to shrink the size of government.

The discussion then turns to whether or not the political left have dominance over the right. Why do right wingers cede ground to the left all the time, and is it just a one way street?

Photo by Bluehouse Skis on Unsplash

——

Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

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This edition can be found here: https://youtu.be/BY1gZU3hBlA

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Labour Leadership Lunacy, Unelected Political Influences and Project Fear Failed Predictions

February 28, 2020 Andrew Elliott 00:52:43

This week we start by discussing the current crop of Labour Leadership contenders. We take apart their views on transgender sex offenders and whether having Labour members influence military policy might not be such a great idea.

We then move on to political influence in general. What is and is not ok? How insulated should the Prime Minister be?

Finally, we discuss Mark Carney and his failed Brexit predictions. We ask the question: How can someone who can’t even predict his own actions in known circumstances ever be trusted to predit anything ever again?

Photo by J-S Romeo on Unsplash

——

Please visit our website to download or stream all our previous episodes and to read our articles.

Web: https://soundingboard.com

Podcast RSS: https://soundingboard.com/feed/podcast

Remember, you can now subscribe on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzAT–UxzErq_UU5SCUtFg

This edition can be found here: https://youtu.be/pBZKcmmwA1M

Please reach out to us on Twitter:

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