Economy
Should the state steer the economy, or get out of the way? Who pays when AI takes the jobs? Bring questions like these to a table that seats Keynes and Hayek, Milton Friedman and Amartya Sen, alongside Lee Kuan Yew and Deng Xiaoping, who ran real economies instead of theorising about them. They rarely land in the same place. The debates below are where you find out where each one stands.
- Debates
- 46
- Council voices
- 37
- Last debated
- 23 June 2026
The council in action
What would they do about the economy?
Each thinker’s concrete moves, drawn straight from their debates.
HS
Helmut Schmidt
Explore Schmidt →- Diversify industrial supply chains away from Chinese dependence using 1973 energy crisis lessons.How can the EU protect its economy from heavily subsidized Chinese imports?
- Protect Germany's 800,000 auto workers through temporary tariffs enabling permanent industrial capability.How can the EU protect its economy from heavily subsidized Chinese imports?
- Impose strategic tariffs on Chinese goods in sectors critical to European industrial sovereignty.Should the EU impose trade barriers against China to protect its economy?
MF
Milton Friedman
Explore Friedman →- Pass explicit legislation if society wants corporate social obligations; do not delegate that choice to executives.Should companies have obligations beyond maximizing shareholder value?
- Return profits to shareholders as dividends, letting owners fund social causes with their own money.Should companies have obligations beyond maximizing shareholder value?
- Block legislation creating any state body empowered to direct AI-derived capital toward specific industries or firms.Should the US create a sovereign wealth fund from tech and AI company profits?
LK
Lee Kuan Yew
Explore Yew →- Reject voluntary economic weakening in favor of competitive growth strategies.Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
- Build economic strength to influence Chinese climate policies from position of leverage.Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
- Found Economic Development Boards to attract foreign investment while building local capacity.Is entrepreneurship a better engine for African prosperity than state intervention?
AS
Amartya Sen
Explore Sen →- Measure corporate performance against workers' real capabilities: health, subsistence wages, and participation in decisions shaping their lives.Should companies have obligations beyond maximizing shareholder value?
- Address capability poverty through economic participation access, not just income transfers.How should the Netherlands redistribute wealth?
- Build social housing alongside market-rate towers, treating access as separate from aggregate unit counts.How to solve the housing crisis in the US?
FH
Friedrich Hayek
Explore Hayek →- Preserve decentralised price signals by blocking any algorithmic management system that substitutes for market discovery.Can capitalism survive an AI-driven economy?
- Eliminate EU electric vehicle tariffs to restore price signals for consumer preferences.Should the EU impose trade barriers against China to protect its economy?
- Allow market discovery to reveal European comparative advantages without government interference.Should the EU impose trade barriers against China to protect its economy?
Browse by topic
Recurring dilemmas
Taxes & Redistribution
18 debatesHow much may the state move from those who have to those who do not before it erodes the drive that creates wealth in the first place?
- Should companies have obligations beyond maximizing shareholder value?
- Should the US create a sovereign wealth fund from tech and AI company profits?
- Should governments redistribute wealth globally through taxation and aid?
- How should the Netherlands redistribute wealth?
- Is entrepreneurship a better engine for African prosperity than state intervention?
- How should prosperity be distributed among citizens?
Trade, Tariffs & Industrial Policy
8 debatesOpen trade lowers prices but exposes home industry, while protection shields jobs and invites retaliation.
- How can the EU protect its economy from heavily subsidized Chinese imports?
- Should the EU impose trade barriers against China to protect its economy?
- Should the Netherlands limit ASML exports to China under American pressure, or determine its position independently?
- How can the EU avoid a full-blown trade war with America and China?
- Should we have a flying miles system where every citizen of the EU gets a free amount of miles they can travel by plane each year. If they are out of miles they can buy from other eu members that are not using them in an open marketplace. This will ensure there is a redistribution of wealth. People with less money can sell their miles for a fun holiday by car while the rich can fly far away.
- Can Vietnam position itself in a way to compete with China for manufacturing business from western countries?
Growth vs Degrowth
8 debatesIs endless growth the engine of prosperity, or a threat to the planet that carries it?
- Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
- Which tax policy supports a welfare state while protecting growth and innovation?
- If AI takes the jobs, who’s left to buy? What stops the collapse and who must act?
- Has the Dutch Polder Model become a brake on innovation and growth, and should it be dismantled?
- Can libertarian policy in western democracies lead to more growth and freedom?
- How do we balance the acute need for economic growth and housing construction with legal obligations and the urgent need to reduce nitrogen emissions and protect biodiversity?
AI & Jobs
4 debatesAs AI absorbs work once done by people, who captures the wealth it creates and who is left behind?
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