Chris Dillow

Have started re-reading this.

Psychopath politicians How we select for psychopathic rulers.

There is. And I've argued that politics also selects for psychopaths: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/psychopath...

Crime and Policing Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : 'Crime and Policing Bill' on Tuesday 20 January 2026.

The actual words of the current British Home Secretary:
“My ultimate vision for that part of the criminal justice system was to achieve, by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his Panopticon. That is that the eyes of the State can be on you at all times."

Might apply in the corporate world as well.

One reason why I was never cut out for the world of work was that I was never fanatical enough about anything to devote my life to it. Retirement and dilettantism suit me better. I'd write something on the virtues of the dilettante, if I could be bothered.

"Regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit" - George Stigler. As I was saying: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-regulat...

There are good arguments for a UBI. But "we need it because of something that might not happen and can be addressed by other policies" is not one of them.

Thanks. I endeavour to give satisfaction.

Growth – some less edited thoughts After too long a gestation today I finally put out my report for the Institute for Government about what is needed to raise growth rates. Finally. I am rather an old dog in this fight. My goodness,…

And now a more personal blog on what I was driving at in this growth piece, through five years' of frustrated commentary.
freethinkecon.wordpress.com/2026/01/28/g...

True this. I wrote here that the Labour party can learn a lot from Richard II (the play): chrisdillow.substack.com/p/what-the-l...

The Set Piece Revolution The game is changing in the English Premier League.

in the latest Expecting Goals newsletter (free to read!) I broke down the numbers on the Premier League set piece revolution and why I think it marks a major new tactical trend in the Premier League that will be unusually difficult to dislodge www.expectinggoals.com/p/the-set-pi...

"There is a direct link between class, of being socialised into and working for a living in the post-industrial economy, and accepting socially liberal values as the everyday commonsense."

Yes. But we shouldn't expect this govt to be aware of the realities of capitalism.

The death of the centre-right Liberal conservatism has been killed by the economic system it supported.

New substack: the Tories can have a viable economic policy, or they can cultivate the traditional class base of conservatism, but they cannot do both. chrisdillow.substack.com/p/the-death-...

This seems to me a reasonably harmless way of improving optionality. As govt dalliances with new tech go, it's nowhere near as daft as Sunak's "NFT for Britain."

The discovery of Richard III enriched Leicester in every way How archaeologists, geneticists and an amateur historian combined to rewrite the history of an East Midlands city

How archaeologists, geneticists and an amateur historian combined to rewrite the history of an East Midlands city | Jonathan Calder

Addendum: because I take conservative ideas seriously, the ones I consume represent either the time tested wisdom of the ages, or the thinking of meritocratic elites. I've got a lot of Scruton, Hayek and Friedman to get through before I start on a F'KNG PODCAST.

I have left my comfortable liberal bubble in order to consume conservative content dozens of times. It has almost invariably been garbage. Telling me I still need to keep doing it is frankly now coming up against my belief in induction. Bayes' Law has worked, this is no longer a "prior".

The BBC once made the arts ‘utterly central’ to television – 100 years later they’re almost invisible After British television was established in 1926, it went on to foster a productively rich relationship with the arts, but coverage has seriously declined this century.

The BBC once made the arts ‘utterly central’ to television – 100 years later they’re almost invisible
theconversation.com/the-bbc-once...

We’ve had years of the American right yelling about free speech, the marketplace of ideas, & complaining about silencing. The second they get the chance, they go full authoritarian.

Some costs of remilitarization Raising military spending is economically and politically damaging

It's because it's not money that defends the country but people & kit. Putting these to work would risk raising inflation & hence interest rates. Hence the need to cut consumption to offset this threat. More here: chrisdillow.substack.com/p/some-costs...

Reminds me of Adlai Stevenson’s reply when told that every thinking person supported him: “I’m afraid that won’t do—I need a majority."

Let public by war bonds to raise £20bn for defence, say Lib Dems Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey says the bonds would

The constraint on military spending isn't finance but real resources: manpower, tech, ability to get procurement right etc. This plan would only work if it releases real resources - ie if those buying the bonds cut their consumption rather than merely divert savings: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

There's a point at which "impartiality" becomes gaslighting. The BBC has crossed this point.

All the speculation I've seen about Andy Burnham misses an important question: how would the life of the median citizen (or a member of the least advantaged class if you're a Rawlsian) be different if he were PM? Without this question, all we have is politics as soap opera.

Yes, but also the X-Files affirmed the value of science, and that one must work hard to find the truth - lessons which are still very necessary.

Don't dispute your fundamental point. But his is calculation right? Mightn't he lost more than £80 by, eg, foregoing the career advancement opportunities that come from (appearing to be?) working harder?

True, but I'm pleased to see him raise the Marxian idea of alienation; let's get our converts where we can.

There's an analogue here with the Minsky hypothesis - financial stability breeds instability, in part because of complacency.

I'm instinctively against bans. But isn't there more case for banning these than banning u-16s using social media? Both in principle (self- vs other-regarding acts) & evidence: some isolated u-16s need social media.