Brief Commencement Statement

The aim of this blog is the furtherance of Political, Economic, and Social Liberalism. I have a background in Economics and Finance (but no postgraduate education in these subjects), and so I tend to look at topics in a cost-benefit sort of way. I would put this blog within the Smith-Hayek tradition of liberalism based on a certain understanding of economics. However, subjects are not always about simple costs and benefits for society; there are many values that are important yet difficult to price. I advocate freedom of speech because I personally value that freedom and find the lack of it repulsive. For example, while Singapore may be materially quite rich, I would rather live in a marginally poorer country with more freedom. More controversially, I favor freedom of movement across country borders. Putting aside the added value of the option to move abroad, there is something inherently uncomfortable to me about being so constrained in my movements by the government. These freedoms are important to me, and the lack of them has a cost. Perhaps there could be some tradeoff between these freedoms. At the individual level, that can affect the choice of where to live. But fortunately for countries, it appears that expansion of any type of freedom tends to bring about growth of the others.

This blog may adopt some radical views (within our current political spectrum), but will not be radical in approach. I tend to favor gradual advancement towards improved policy. Upheaval has a cost, and so does the continuance of bad policies – they must be balanced. I am a reader of many blogs, but if I had to pick a two that I believe are most similar to my outlook - the two at the top of Google Reader for me are Marginal Revolution and Megan McArdle at the Atlantic. I admire their thought processes and styles. Both are far far beyond me, but both will be significant influences. But I aim to resist the temptation to discuss and link to only those who agree with my views.

To state it formally, I have three purposes for this blog at this point
1. To engage with those outside of liberalism and try to influence their views and those of undecideds.
2. To help with the development and refinement of liberal/libertarian views within that community.
3. And more selfishly, to develop and refine my own views and personal thought process.

So these are my goals. This blog will testify to whether or not I succeed.