Coverage of Vince Cable on BBC News saying that the UK government hasn’t yet managed (or really chosen) to communicate to the British people that their old assumptions about economic leadership in the world are no longer valid. In short, we’re following now; not in the driving seat any more. (This shift may also be true of other developed countries.)
The most important consequence for us as individuals?
We need to learn like never before.
Tony Blair was only half right when he said (in 1997) the priority was “Education, education, education”. Though it maybe doesn’t have the same ring, “Learning, learning, learning” would have made clear that it’s a life-long priority and one we need to take responsibilty for ourselves. I don’t entrust my future prosperity to an employer or a government. Do you?
Just to clarify… Vince Cable is arguing that Britain doesn’t have the ability to set prices that it once did and in that sense is less leading and more following than it used to be – a point about the systemic nature of economics. Leadership in other senses is an open question.