Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Scruton all over the shop

In an opening paragraph that I assume will cause hairs to be raised on any free market economist who supported Brexit,  Roger Scruton explains why Brexit is good for the English countryside:
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy was designed to support the small farmer, and it is fair to say it has failed to achieve that purpose. Because subsidies have been calculated by acreage, they both push up the price of land and benefit those who own the largest chunks of it — which means absentee agribusinesses. The CAP is indeed one major cause in the decline of the real rural economy — the economy of the small farmers who live and work in the fields. Leaving the EU is our opportunity to devise a new system of subsidies, one that will achieve what the public really wants from farming, which is not only food, but the two precious attributes that large-scale agribusiness threatens: beauty and bio-diversity.

6 comments:

not trampis said...

The consumer does not care whether the farmer is small or large. They care about the price of the good which is related to efficiency.

Let the market decide not governments!

Jason Soon said...

Homer the free marketer?

ROFL

Jason Soon said...

On the broader point it is hardly news that there were people supporting Brexit for a variety of reasons, including hard lefties opposed to the EU agenda of freer trade. None of which renders invalid the free market reason for supporting Brexit anymore than the fact that there were social democrats supporting staying in the EU rendered invalid that the EU did have trade openness impacts

not trampis said...

Soony I have always been in favour on competitive markets ( not the same as free markets.). A pity you have not the facility to discern this.

Thus i have always been in favour of neo-liberal economics.

Steve said...

I'm looking forward to the great influx of cheaper Brexited British marmalade, shortbread and toffee that we've been missing out on in the antipodes, Jason.

Anonymous said...

No jase, Paxton supports misernomics. He always supports anything that would make things cheaper for him to buy. The ignorant twat wanted to government to tell him which supermarkets were offering the cheap products through grocery watch. Despicable.
And lazy.