Recent content by Hayek

Is this just a pathetic attempt to pick on me? I certainly never suggested the BBC have a fondness for North Korea. I have never tried to make a big deal out of the article I linked to, just pointed out that the BBC is not without bias, though I understand not everyone reads the article that...

Then why mention the market reform at all? And in a context which seems to lead up to the problems they have? 'Market reforms introduced in North Korea in recent years mean most people only get about half the food they need through the state and have to buy the rest themselves.' This does not...

Wow, I actually didn't know those were BBC shows. I thought I was at a disadvantage in this debate because I don't have a TV set, but those shows hardly compare to top-quality commercial TV shows. I suppose North Koreans lived well under those merry days when they had to turn to the state...

Come on now, I conceded myself in that very same post that it was only one report and need not be pertinent at all to whther the BBC is biased or not. However, you cannot argue that there was not bias in that particular report. Apparently, some BBC reporter felt aggrieved about the market and...

Weblogs, newspapers, television and radio all keep check of one another all the time. If compromising details about some TV station's reporting or whatever are revealed, said TV station's reputation will suffer, it will lose viewers and its sponsors will be upset.

Here's a BBC article implying that market reforms caused starvation in North Korea: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4553695.stm . It's possible that I am mistaken regarding the allegations of partiality, the above is after all just one instance. It's one of these things you hear...

There have been a sufficient number of allegations about partisanship against the BBC to suggest that not even their news necessarily satisfy the impartiality criterion. Moreover, private media can build a reputation for being truthful and balanced in their reporting and attract customers that...

I haven't lived all my life in the UK, but surely there has never been a plebiscite on whether the BBC should be privatized or not? And even if there has, there would still be a sizable minority who either don't own a TV set because of the licence or pay up but don't watch the BBC. So a majority...

You seem to misunderstand me. I said TV is continuously improving. I was not comparing one station to another today, I said TV shows would tend to get better all the time even in the absence of your beloved privileged institution with special rights to forcibly take individuals' money away. I...

What is wrong with the assumption? You seem to contend that if humans are not treated like cattle and forced to do what you think is right, they will immediately turn into disgusting pigs. Timeless classics like "Seinfeld" and "the Simpsons" were not made by privileged institutions which were...

Atropos makes a very good point when answering those who tout the supposed superiority of the BBC: If the programmes really are that great, why would they not be made by private broadcasting companies? To think that Britons would abandon good quality TV shows as soon as they are not forced to...

I wonder who has written the thread starter's textbook, not that I put any stock into anything he says about it. I guess those who think economics is right-wing biased are not very well versed in the subject. At least the below study indicates that economists are not generally free-market...

I have heard of that before. The greatest difficulty I have with that argument is that it makes envy a legitimate basis for social policy. What if people were generally suspicious of some racial minority and felt that they would be happier as long as their incomes were higher than those of the...

No, because any price (wage) floor will lead to higher unemployment, as long as the floor is above the market equilibrium. If it isn't, it will have no impact and be an unnecessary piece of legislation. Besides, if economic globalization has already lifted China (one fifth of the world's...

Business Week magazine had an article on Chinese wages a while ago saying that they were actually on the rise because of labour shortages. I saved the URL, as the article was to my liking: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_13/b3977049.htm