#24: Dr Eamonn Butler: Rescuing a rotten Britain, schools of economic thought, a case for optimism

Dr Eamonn Butler is the co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute and has dedicated decades of service in spreading economic freedom. He is the author of several books including 'Foundations of a Free Society', 'The Condensed Wealth of Nations', and 'The Best Book on the Market'. Our conversation includes his latest book "An Introduction to Schools of Economic Thought". We also coverhis return to Britain to advise the Thatcher administration on market reforms having done so in 1970s for the US House of Representatives.If you've been unsure of how to distinguish between your Adam Smiths to your Friedrich Hayeks, then this conversation is a great place to start. We also use Eamonn's knowledge of economic theory to discuss the issues of our age - a broken Britain, the absence of risk taking, the flaws of direct democracy, and the law of Economic Rent holding back our youth.You can find Eamonn's latest book here: https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Schools-of-Thought-Interactive.pdfThis podcast was produced by https://linktr.ee/thisismattcooper with music composed by https://open.spotify.com/artist/6mH930VvONxn76Kqpnixjy.00:00:00 - The Rotten State of Britain00:06:34 - Britain’s welfare state00:10:28 - What got Eamonn into Economics00:12:30 - Coming back to rescue Britain00:19:10 - Why big companies hate competition00:21:30 - Who was Adam Smith00:24:45 - Schools of Economics Thought00:33:15 - Hayek, Friedman and Keynes00:40:15 - Did Marx get anything right?00:42:17 - What is behavioural economics?00:46:45 - Why no mention of Georgism in Schools of Economic Thought?00:57:30 - Why don’t we take risk anymore?01:10:05 - Is democracy inherently flawed?01:15:10 - The long bet