The Peter McCormack Show #129

Guest: Shanker Singham
Title: The Case for Radical Economic Reform
Date: November 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this widely-ranging and incisive conversation, Peter McCormack is joined by renowned trade expert Shanker Singham to make the case for radical economic reform in the UK and globally. They examine the dangers of regulatory overreach, the urgent need for economic flexibility in the age of AI, the missteps and missed opportunities post-Brexit, and how the public is fundamentally miseducated about markets, trade, and prosperity. Singham brings deep data, a moral philosophy of liberty, and a call for better education that reframes economics away from Marxist thinking, advocating instead for voluntary exchange, competition, and the flourishing of individuals. The conversation also delves into monetary systems and the potential of Bitcoin, critiques models of governance, and closes with a positive vision (over the long arc of history) for human prosperity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Flourishing, Agency, and the Role of Government

(01:53 – 05:31)

• Government’s Core Job: Enable people to flourish—security, property rights, and agency.
• Economic Policy Sequence: Tackle regulatory distortions first, then address tax; both must aim at maximizing voluntary exchange and minimizing barriers.
• Quote:
  "The government's job... is to allow its people to flourish and thrive in all aspects of what that means. So you need to understand what flourishing and thriving means..."
  — Shanker Singham [01:53]

2. Competition, Regulation, and Misplaced Focus

(05:31 – 15:09)

• Competition is the Benchmark: Regulations should be judged on their effect on competition, not just 'business burden' or red tape.
• Anticompetitive Regulations: Most harm is done in regulatory areas, far more than through tax or tariffs.
• Missed Post-Brexit Opportunities: UK failed to leverage departure from the EU to reduce harmful regulations and boost competition.
• Quote:
  "Competition is the yardstick. And that's why our model measures things on the basis of effect on competition."
  — Shanker Singham [05:52]
• EU vs. US: Europe’s anti-competitive drift is eroding GDP per capita; U.K. and Europe risk falling behind prosperous US states.
• Quote:
  "Mississippi now has a higher GDP per capita than the UK. Soon West Virginia ... will have more GDP per capita than Germany."
  — Shanker Singham [15:17]

3. Democracy, Political Choice, and the Problem of Incumbents

(18:46 – 29:03)

• Electoral Choice Is Shallow: Voters lack genuine policy options; real reform requires a clear moral philosophy and commitment to voluntary exchange.
• Entrenched Incumbents: The UK’s regulatory system protects existing players. True reform needs ministers and specialists with real-world experience, not generalists and civil service lifers.
• Quote:
  "The regulatory bias in the UK favors the incumbent. So forget it if you're a new entrant or you're trying to be a new entrant..."
  — Shanker Singham [21:03]
• Civil Service Reform: Argues for political appointments of senior officials, ending the culture of patronage and "moving people around."

4. Education, Economics, and Dangerous Language

(30:05 – 36:03); (80:43 – 84:32)

• Poor Economic Education: Most are only exposed to Keynesian or Marxist ideas, not Hayek or Friedman, and lack context for real-world prosperity.
• Power of Language: “Capitalism” is a loaded, misused term—Singham prefers “voluntary exchange.” Young people often confuse cronyism with capitalism.
• Quote:
  "I've never once used the word capitalism... Capitalism is the word that Marx and Weber coined. It's not our word."
  — Shanker Singham [32:27]
• Call for Critical Thinking: Advocates teaching economic context, critical thinking, and philosophy to better equip future generations.

5. Fiat Currency, Monetary Distortions, and Bitcoin

(36:03 – 39:33)

• Money as Distortion: Fiat systems create fiscal distortions; while correcting them is tough, competitive currencies—like Bitcoin—offer hope.
• Living on a Bitcoin Standard: Personal stories illustrate Bitcoin’s growing influence as a unit of account and store of value.
• Quote:
  "Bitcoin... weirdly, you can live on a bitcoin standard because it doesn't require a government to enforce it."
  — Peter McCormack [38:26]

6. Trump Tariffs, Trade Negotiations, and Global Reform

(39:33 – 52:26)

• Tariffs as Leverage: Trump’s tariffs are best understood as negotiating tools to pressure other countries to reduce anticompetitive market distortions (ACMDs), not as simple protectionism.
• Evidence and Policy Logic: Tariffs incentivize reforms abroad, improve global GDP per capita if tied to distortion reduction.
• Quote:
  "By focusing only on tariffs, you're focusing only on about 20% of all the things that have an effect on an economy growing. And you're completely ignoring 80%."
  — Shanker Singham [40:08]
• Public Choice Problem: Concentrated incumbent interests prevail; reform needs external pressure (e.g., from the US market).
• Quote:
  "You cannot expect countries to reform themselves… you need some external forcing event or activity.”
  — Shanker Singham [46:31]

7. Results, UK Position, and Global Domino Effect

(54:25 – 64:44)

• Tariffs Already Having Impact: Signs that other countries are engaging on distortion reductions due to US pressure.
• UK’s Opportunity: Post-Brexit, the UK has failed to use its leverage for robust negotiation with the EU—should be harder-nosed.
• EU Reform Paradox: Accession can be a reform driver (e.g., for Poland, Hungary), but the current EU is moving opposite its reforming new members.

8. Labor Market, AI, and the New World of Work

(65:55 – 79:49)

• AI’s Real Impacts: Pending major layoffs, particularly for entry-level and graduate jobs. Flexibility in labor is vital; old models of cradle-to-grave jobs are gone.
• Education Not Fit for Purpose: Western education systems are producing too few scientists and engineers; vocational routes are undervalued.
• Quote:
  "With AI and with all of these things, there's huge pressure on young people in the marketplace. They need to be able to have maximum flexibility..."
  — Shanker Singham [00:00 / 74:33]

9. Rethinking Economics as an Art, Context, and Human Flourishing

(84:32 – 89:25)

• Economics ≠ Hard Science: Models are useful directionally, but real progress depends on incentives, competition, and understanding human nature.
• Reading Recommendations: Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics,” Adam Smith and David Ricardo in the original, and von Mises’ works are foundational.
• Quote:
  "Economics is not really a science. First of all, economics is more of an art and it's about human interactions and...incentives."
  — Shanker Singham [84:41]

10. Prospects for Human Prosperity and the Long Arc of History

(89:25 – 96:17)

• Historical Context: Human prosperity is rare; must be actively cultivated through peace, liberty, and competition.
• Optimism with Caveats: Confident long-term society will prosper as people react to failures; short-term degradation possible, but corrections arrive eventually.
• Quote:
  "The natural state of human beings... is poverty and war. I think it's something like 0.005% of our history... we've had something akin to prosperity."
  — Shanker Singham [89:25]

11. Moral Philosophy, Liberty vs. License, and Education for Democracy

(96:17 – End)

• Liberty Is Not License: Economic freedom requires rules and competition law; true liberty is purposeful, not unconstrained.
• Misunderstood Wealth: Wealth is the realization of ideas, not just accumulation of money.
• Quote:
  "Liberty is in some senses constrained by a sort of moral purpose. So am I free as an incumbent to... seize up monopoly rents from the people from the economy? Is that okay...? It's very different.”
  — Shanker Singham [99:06]

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Government’s role & order of reform: [01:53 – 05:31]
• Competition as the regulatory benchmark: [05:31 – 07:30]
• Regulation, GDP impact & Brexit: [07:30 – 15:09]
• Entrenched incumbent power & civil service criticism: [21:03 – 29:03]
• Language & miseducation in economics: [32:27 – 36:03]
• Bitcoin, fiat distortions & voluntary exchange: [36:03 – 39:33]
• Tariffs for reform (Trump policy): [40:08 – 46:31]
• Anti-competitive market distortions (ACMDs) & global trade: [46:31 – 52:26]
• Labor markets, AI and job flexibility: [65:55 – 74:33 / Recurring at start and end]
• Education overhaul & critical thinking imperative: [80:43 – 84:32]
• Optimism for human flourishing long-term: [89:25 – 96:17]
• Liberty vs. license, moral philosophy: [99:06 – 102:18]

Memorable Quotes

• "We teach economics completely unmoored from any... context. ...When we cease to use the meaning of words properly, society falls apart."
  — Shanker Singham [32:27]
• "You lost out your steel job because we did nothing about China distortions. They massively overproduced steel and wiped you out... not because 'capitalism' failed you."
  — Shanker Singham [104:56]
• "Liberty doesn't mean the freedom to do whatever you want. Liberty is in some senses constrained by a sort of moral purpose."
  — Shanker Singham [99:06]
• "We all need to be swimming in the same direction towards increased GDP per capita growth in the country... it will be a win, win situation."
  — Shanker Singham [76:12]
• "The Employment Rights Bill will cause a big negative effect on the UK economy. That's what the Growth Commission projected."
  — Shanker Singham [71:50]

Concluding Takeaways

• Urgency for Reform: The UK and other Western democracies face a genuine threat from sluggish growth, overregulation, and misunderstanding of markets.
• Education Is Key: To achieve sustainable prosperity and true liberty, societies must radically improve the teaching of economics, critical thinking, and the language we use.
• Optimism Rooted in History: Despite current political and economic failings, the history of human progress gives reason for long-term optimism—so long as we learn from failure and recommit to the moral foundations of liberty, competition, and individual flourishing.