BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN
David Dimbleby’s recent, noteworthy ‘in-depth’ piece for the BBC on the supposed decline of the free market reads at times like a wistful elegy. While acknowledging Thatcher’s transformations and Trump’s disruptions, he underestimates the enduring necessity of free markets, even amidst rapid technological evolution.
The notion of a ‘golden age’ before all this is a rose-tinted view. Dimbleby glosses over the inefficiencies and stagnation of that era. The ‘fantasy world of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain,’ as he puts it, was a necessary corrective, unleashing entrepreneurial spirit and driving economic growth.
Thatcher’s privatisation of utilities led to greater efficiency, lower costs, and improved services. The fact that millions became shareholders was genuine empowerment.
Donald ‘Tariff’ Trump’s protectionism obviously deviates from free market principles. His actions, save his valid fiscal positions on the likes of Vietnam and Japan, are mostly a short-sighted attempt to prop up ailing, outmoded industries, harming consumers and distorting markets. In doing so, he’s behaving like the EU that he so despises: his economics are as conservative as a neocon’s idea of conservatism.
Dimbleby writes sorrowfully about outsourcing, seeing factories closing and towns dying. He’s not wrong, but he misses something. Those jobs weren’t coming back anyway. Humans then machines took them. It was not all bad. Outsourcing freed up money, allowing companies to invest, innovate, and create new, different jobs.
Here in the First World we now design, market, sell, and manage. We’re making ideas, not widgets. It’s not easy; people lose the old jobs and must learn new skills. Industrial backwaters are created. But that’s life. The free market moves on. Such areas can redevelop – many are. Outsourcing is part of the story of progress.
Meanwhile, the rise of AI amplifies the importance of free markets. They adapt to technological change, fostering innovation and allocating resources efficiently. Government intervention risks stifling innovation. Places like China can produce knock-offs like a DeepSeek but there the entrepreneurs tend not to dare raising their heads above the parapet for fear of becoming the next Jack Ma, while China’s financial regulators still prioritise risk control over innovation.
Despite challenges, the fundamental principles of free markets remain relevant.
Incentives, competition, choice, and adaptability are the cornerstones of a thriving economy.
The free market isn’t some antiquated concept—it’s a dynamic force for progress. As we drive the next wave of AI innovation, that’s a lesson worth remembering. Meanwhile, dinosaurs like Starmer remain wedded to their lumbering, bloated Big State—hooked on welfare, strangled by red tape, and sapped of vigour by an overgrown public sector.
Dominic Wightman is the Editor of Country Squire Magazine, works in finance, and is the author of five and a half books including Conservatism (2024).