Robbie Mochrie
Starting from economics, but interested in politics, philosophy, classics and history. Sometimes about Scotland. Hoping to be wryly curious.
Recent book "How to think like an Economist" with Bloomsbury
Current project "Trustees of Civilisation."
- Nearly 80 years ago, Franklin Roosevelt began his second term as President by finally engaging with the conservatives on the Supreme Court. He burned through political capital. But secured his administration's legacy - and its future. robbiemochrie.substack.com/p/fdr-and-th...
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- "How to Think like an Economist" The enjoyment of writing. I learned much from the process, becoming more optimistic about economics - itself an optimistic discipline, answering my editor's question, 'where are the women?' and discerning its principles. open.substack.com/pub/robbiemo...
- Adam Smith and Maynard Keynes - economists shaped by their experiences of war? The Jacobite rebellion spurring the Scottish Enlightenment and World War I leading Keynes to think of government as having a critical role in stabilising economies. open.substack.com/pub/robbiemo...
- First attempt to write something on Substack this year. Avoiding any discussion of Venezuela - but thinking about how we might be better in running an economy. substack.com/inbox/post/1...
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- Moonset over Clydebank as I came home from a morning run. Sun just about to rise. Frost everywhere
- A great way for me to start work in 2026 by talking with Steven Spierer on his TalkOne Radio show (www.talkradioone.com/next-steven-...)
- A fridge magnet for a new year. And for the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
- Beginning 2026 with a morning walk to Mugdock Castle, bacon rolls for breakfast (and three crows waiting to swoop on any leftovers). Happy New Year!
- 900 years since the first Scottish coins were issued - and surviving ones will go into the national collection. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- "This century's greatest virtuoso of democratic leadership." Yes, indeed. And it allowed him to be a much loved 'traitor to his class.' Might "Virtuoso Democrat" have possibilities as a book title?
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- In Edinburgh Methodist church for the IPPR Scotland conference. The congregation seems to have left us something to ponder.
- To engage supporters of Scottish independence, tell them that they shot themselves in the foot before the 2014 independence referendum. Tell them that was good for their nation. Thibault Laurentjoye at the Scottish Currench Group conference. @scg1.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/posts/robbie...
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- At the Scottish Currency Group conference - and Thibault Laurentjoye trying to shock participants into reality.
- That anxious moment just before the conference starts. @scg1.bsky.social at the @fifecollege.bsky.social new learning campus in Dunfermline xx
- Looking forward to hearing the debate at the @scg1.bsky.social conference tomorrow. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scottish-c...
- Social media summarised.
- FDR enjoying the freedom which driving gave him once he was paralysed. I've used @delong.social as the starting point for thinking about how we now need to manage that freedom and why Zohran Mamdani might be enough like FDR to rebuild the Democratic coalition open.substack.com/pub/robbiemo...
- Some words about creative destruction in politics, trying to use the Nobel Peace Prize award as a lens for understanding better the Economics Prize, the present economic and political situation, and invoking the work of Adam Smith. open.substack.com/pub/robbiemo...
- FDR - recovering from polio suddenly went back into politics in 1928. Odd timing, and perhaps bounced into it. What might explain his choice - noblesse oblige or religious faith? Reflections on Davis’ claim that it was faith. open.substack.com/pub/robbiemo...
- @scg1.bsky.social Delighted to see that your hard work has paid off and this paper is annoying the right people www.gov.scot/publications...
- Bringing together @timothysnyder.bsky.social and Barbara Kingsolver to reflect on the role of care in establishing our freedom. With other analysis from Anne Case and Angus Deaton, summarised by @baldwinre.bsky.social. Telling stories to make sense of data. open.substack.com/pub/robbiemo...
- Late to this, but much as I enjoyed reading @timothysnyder.bsky.social's 'On Liberty', the limited role for the divine - or even the sustaining collective - in a book which leans so heavily on the reputations of Edith Stein and Simone Weil left me with many questions. substack.com/profile/1139...
- Fascinating thread which made me realise just how little attention I've been paying to the Conservative Party recently. Ties in with @robfordmancs.bsky.social wondering if the Party now has a death wish.
- Lovely, learned discussion of the New Deal, Roosevelt and Keynes from @georgeselgin.bsky.social at the @libraryofmistakes.bsky.social. Agree that Keynes should be the hero of his book, "False Dawn", and with almost everything that he said. substack.com/profile/1139...
- Plans to celebrate 250 years since the publication of "Wealth of Nations". Examining some ideas on which Smith might have worked today. But briefly. And in less of an alcoholic fog than in the 18th century. open.substack.com/pub/robbiemo...
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- Easy to see where changes of governing party took place - except in 2000 and perhaps in 2016. Should we still think that "It's the economy, stupid"? Or has this Presidency moved the narrative beyond that?
- Brief reflections on yesterday’s Ethical Finance Global meeting in Edinburgh. I’ve missed out Lord Alderdice’s bit about political processes being a like an accordion, always cyclical rather than there being linear progress. More to follow. substack.com/@economyofho...
