Ridley: We Owe Our Prosperity to 2 Men From Glasgow
Matt Ridley’s latest essay argues that modern prosperity traces back to two 1776 Glasgow breakthroughs: Adam Smith’s seminal "Wealth of Nations" and James Watt’s commercially viable steam engine. He contends that Smith’s doctrine of spontaneous order and Watt’s cheap, heat‑driven power together forged the engine of the Industrial Revolution, lifting living standards worldwide. Ridley warns that contemporary policies that inflate energy costs—by restricting domestic fossil fuels and over‑relying on low‑return renewables—risk repeating the stagnation seen in economies that ignore these lessons. The piece frames 1776 as a pivotal lesson for today’s energy and trade strategies.
Ridley: The Gas Price Shock Will Expose Britain’s Catastrophic Energy Misjudgment
The recent surge in global natural‑gas prices has laid bare Britain’s over‑reliance on imports, costing households roughly three times what Americans pay. The author argues that a decade‑old decision to ban on‑shore shale fracking has left the UK vulnerable, missing...