Author Archives: HHG

100 Years of Totalitarian Communism

RNH is actively promoting a series of works relevant to the 100 years of totalitarian communism, after the Bolshevik coup, under Lenin’s leadership, in Petrograd 7 November 1917. In the first place, historian Snorri G. Bergsson—also a well-known chess player—has … Continue reading

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100 Years — 100 Millions

In the 100 years which have passed since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, communism has claimed at least 100 million lives, RNH Academic Director Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson wrote in Morgunbladid 7 November 2017, quoting Stéphane Courtois’ Black Book of … Continue reading

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Liberalism and Populism

A lively discussion on liberal principles and modern challenges took place at the special meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in Stockholm 2–5 November 2017. The ideas discussed (and not necessarily endorsed by all) included: Liberalism is in essence cosmopolitanism; through … Continue reading

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Norberg: Many Reasons for Optimism

There are many reasons why we should look forward to the future, Swedish historian and television personality Johan Norberg said at a meeting organised by the Institute of Public Administration and Politics at the University of Iceland, the Public Book … Continue reading

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Gissurarson: Five Crucial Decisions Leading to Collapse

The Report of the Special Investigative Commission, SIC, into the 2008 Icelandic bank collapse was informative, but it did not explain the collapse itself. The SIC’s explanation was that the banks had grown too rapidly and become too big. But … Continue reading

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Spirited Discussion about the Icelandic Commonwealth

What would it be like to live under law, but without government? When Professor David D. Friedman was reflecting on this question in the 1970s, he realised that people had already done so, in the Icelandic Commonwealth of 930–1262. At … Continue reading

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