Document
A Sinking Ship? Privatize Kenya's National Social Security Fund
IPN Opinion article
"The public pension system is a collectivist scheme that deprives individuals the freedom to organize their future. It is imperative to give the contributors the freedom to choose a retirement scheme that works best for them. Given that the poor tend to start work earlier in their lives and have a shorter life expectancy than the better offs, the public system is unfair to this category of people."
Poor Statistics: Getting the facts right about poverty in Australia
IPN Opinion article
"Too many people today depend on state benefits, and opportunities for developing people's independence and responsibility for their own lives are being missed. But before we can begin to address the policy options that may be open to us, it is important to clarify the nature of the problems that confront us. In particular, we need to be clear about what we mean by ëpoverty', how much of it there is, what causes it, and whether the situation is improving or getting worse."
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Lighting the Way on the Dark Continent
IPN Opinion article
James Shikwati and IREN are proof positive that ideas can motivate and make a difference. The seeds of a brighter, freer east Africa are now being planted in Nairobi. In time, the work James has commenced may liberate millions. Where there was stagnation and despair, there is now good reason to have hope for the Dark Continent.
The Culture of Liberty
IPN Opinion article
Cries of Western cultural hegemony are as common as they are misguided. In reality, globalization does not suffocate local cultures but rather liberates them from the ideological conformity of nationalism.
Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights: Global Economic Apartheid?
IPN Opinion article
TRIPs enforcement is not global economic apartheid; rather it is a system to ensure incentives for researchers and drug producers. It is a challenge to Kenya and by extension Africa not to invest in seeking patents lifted but to learn to enforce them. Legalized theft through patent overrides will simply plunge the poor to their graves due to lack of drugs.
A sceptic's view of the TRIPs and essential medicines debate
IPN Opinion article
If the WHO truly wanted greater differential pricing in developing countries it would support diminishing government intervention and the strengthening of intellectual property rights. That would create the kind of rule-based competition that truly drives companies to expand market share through price incentives. The WHO would better serve the health of the world's people by improving its own performance in the areas where it could make a difference, rather than trying to re-arrange global pharmaceutical markets.
The Right to Good Ideas
IPN Opinion article
" Intellectual-property rights are not just for the rich world. Carefully constructed, they can help the poorest too."
ADPIC et Services MÈdicaux: Repenser le DÈbat
IPN Opinion article
French version of Trips and Healthcare: Rethinking the debate
World Regulations and Harmonization
IPN Opinion article
Globalization, say its critics, produces harmful effects that warrant a body of well-coordinated international regulations. The theoretical and practical arguments in favor of free trade have long been articulated, but how strong are the arguments for world regulation of trade liberalization?
