How Can I talk of Freedom ?

Somone sent a comment to my blog asking how I could reconcile standing up for freedom with working for the FSA. (It isn't published because I won't publish anonymous posts but I will try and respond to them if they have substance).

My answer is in two halves - partly principled, partly pragmatic:-

The pragmatic part - I have to earn a living and the FSA provides a means for me to do that.

The principled part - At the FSA I work to try and ensure that we have a level playing field in which sharks do not run off with pensioners' savings, in which insider dealing does not happen and in which fraud and identity theft are rare. Freedom without order is a nonsense - it is the rule of the mob and results in freedom for none but the biggest thugs. High quality financial regulation helps ensure that London has free rather than rigged capital markets. In order for there to be a free society, the state has, de minimus, to provide law and order for its citizens. I like to think that the way I earn my crust as well as my local political activity helps achieve that.