I spent the summer on the Baltic coast reading David Landes, Wealth and Poverty of Nations. The book should be read. I was struck by an excellent section on why Britain, rather than other countries, reaped economic growth, lifting millions out of dire, gut wrenching poverty.
His summary, below, provides a simple, yet not simplistic, template that any government could adopt and transform our society and economy for the better. It is a manifesto worth running on.
“Let us begin by deilenating the ideal case; the society theoretically best suited to pursue material progress and general enrichment. Keep in mind that this is not necessarily a “better” or “superior” society (words to be avoided), simply one fitter to produce goods and services. This ideal growth-and-development society would be one that
1. Knew how to operate, manage, and build the instruments of production and to create, adapt, and master new techniques on the technological frontier.
2. Was able to impart this knowledge and how-how to the young, whether by forman education or apprenticeship training.
3. Choose people for jobs by competence and relative merit; promoted and demoted on the basis of performance.
4. Afforded opportunity to individual or collective enterprise.encouraged initiative, competition, and emulation.
5. Allowed people to enjoy and employ the fruits of their labour and enterprise.
These standards imply corollaries: gender equality (thereby doubling the pool of talent); no incrimination on the basis of irrelevant criteria (race, sex, religion, etc.; also a preference for scientific (means-end) rationality over magic and supersition (irrationality).
such a society would also possess the kind of political and social institutions that favour the achievement of these larger goals; that would, for example,
1. Secure rights of private property, the better to encourage saving and investment.
2. Secure rights of personal liberty – secure them against both the abuses of tyranny and private disorder (crime and corruption).
3. Enforce rights of contract, explicit and implict.
4. Provide stable government, not necessarily democratic, but itself governed by publicly known rules (a government of laws rather than men). If democratic, that is based on periodic elections, the majority wins but does not violate the rights of the losers; while the losers accept their loss and look forward to another turn at the polls.
5. Provide responsive government, one that will hear complaint and make redress.
6. Provide honest government, such that economic actors are not moved to seek advantage and privilege inside or outside the marketplace. In economic jargon; there should be no rents to favour and position.
7. provide moderate, efficient, unready government. The effect should be told hold taxes down, reduce the government’s claim on the social surplus, and avoid privilege”.