Articles

Competitiveness is a strange beast—always measured against outsiders, yet forged internally. In her annual address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reminded us of a hard truth, one that “after Draghi and Trump” can no longer be ignored: competitiveness is not a game; it is a matter of survival.

How to deal with the weaponization of information? What is the future (if any) of independent journalism? What does public interest information mean and why should it be protected? Have we lost the shared understanding of the world? And, if that is the case, how can we restore it? Leszek Jazdzewski talks with Patrice Schneider, Chief Strategy Officer at the Media Development Investment Fund.

When the United States struggled with a recession in the early 1990s, James Carville, who was an adviser to Bill Clinton during the presidential campaign, coined a slogan that for decades became a hallmark of neoliberal thinking (or even a neoliberal worldview). The economy, stupid! was quoted in virtually every language, tailored to the circumstances of a given country, company, or even private matters.

The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) marks its 35th anniversary—a milestone for an organization that began its work at the dawn of Lithuania’s independence and has since become one of the most influential incubators of public policy ideas in the region. Founded on November 20, 1990, the Institute laid the groundwork for individuals to live and create in a free market and for the state to act responsibly and efficiently.

The November issue of the 4liberty.eu Newsletter provides an overview of the articles published on the 4liberty.eu website, serving as a starting point for further exploration.

Imagine two economists walking into a grocery store whose shelves are completely empty. One says: \"The problem is production — not enough goods are being created.\" The other one replies: \"No, the problem is demand — people aren’t spending, they’re saving. The state must stimulate consumption.\" This dispute still shapes how governments respond to crises, how they spend money, and how modern macroeconomic policy is justified.

Priorities. Practically every ministry, every coalition, even every group sitting at a table in a pub has a whole list of them. But so as not to sound too self-deprecating, this is not just a problem in the Czech Republic. For three and a half years, we have been hearing that defense is our European priority. I would very much like to agree with that.

It will soon be two years since rock rebel Javier Milei took office as president of Argentina. Since then, Argentina\'s economy has been shaken to its foundations. In a country with a deep-rooted public finance crisis, hyperinflation, and extensive subsidies, a government of uncompromising cuts took office and, within a few months, changed the fiscal balance, suppressed inflation, and reduced dependence on social transfers.

The history of Thanksgiving\'s origins is instructive for modern times in several respects. It is widely known that the first Europeans to set foot in the Americas faced severe hardships. Nearly half of them starved to death as agriculture failed in their new lands. Today, we no longer confront the hunger endured by the first pilgrims.

How to interpret the results of the Dutch elections? What does the return of history to European affairs really mean? Is the EU a stage or an actor in the big drama of history? And what kind of Europe is emerging from Donald Trump\'s efforts to dismantle the American empire and the post-1945 world order? Leszek Jazdzewski talks with Luuk van Middelaar, the founding Director of Brussels Institute for Geopolitics.