"The problem is too little globalisation, and too little capitalism..."

“It is correct that the wealth of the world is very unevenly distributed… the reason why it is unevenly distributed is that there is an uneven distribution of capitalism [..] The problem of the world today is too little globalisation and too little capitalism.” - Johan Norberg

The author of that statement, Johan Norberg (right), takes part in a thought-provoking interview that makes the perfect Saturday afternoon listening. Tune in here to 'The Devil's Advocate,' the English edition of this Swedish show in which Norberg covers:

• the effects of globalisation,
  
• how to explain the success of the Nordic welfare states and how these compare to the US,
• whether the role of the state in the economic development of the Asian tigers challenges the widely held belief that economic liberalism and political and individual freedom are inseparable.
  
• Finally we touch on Johan Norberg’s vision of the good society and how to achieve it in a world in which both left- and right-wing governments are at home with the notion of a big state.

Says the friend who sent me the link (thanks David), "I think people should hear this." Tune in here. A last excerpt before you tune in:

“My moral ground for this is based on the idea that individuals are actually quite smart they are quite creative. That’s why I think freedom is a good idea basically, because I think people can create wonders and that’s what I think history has taught us. In the last 100 years of relative freedom we have created more than in the 100.000 years of oppression, slavery and feudalism before that.”

Great stuff.

LINKS: Interview with Johan Norberg - Devil's Advocate

RELATED: Politics-World, Economics, Libertarianism