Politicians will always spend every penny of tax raised and whatever else they can get away with.

Italy may well be the main problem. It has benefited most from the euro by having been able to get the euro interest rate instead of what otherwise would have been its own. That would be much higher because Italy has been accumulating so much debt. In the past, Italy has inflated away its debt. The virtue of the euro is that Italy can't do it alone. A tight ECB policy wouldn't permit that to happen again.

If capitalism worked as the socialists think an economic system ought to work, and provided a constant equality of living conditions for all, regardless of whether a man was able or not, resourceful or not, diligent or not, thrifty or not, if capitalism put no premiums on resourcefulness and effort and not penalty on idleness or vice, it would produce only an equality of destitution.

If China don't free up the political side, its economic growth will come to an end - while it is still at a very low level.

I would say that in this world, the greatest source of inequality has been special privileges granted by government.

The price works so well, so efficiently, that we are not aware of it most of the time.

Is it really true that political self-interest is nobler somehow than economic self-interest?