The Business of Britain Should Be Business

For the record, tabloids in Britain are the equivalent of Fox news / MSNBC, they are gossip because they are for-profit organs responding do demand. It seems... not wrong, but a little odd, to open with that as a criticism of insufficiently pro-business cultures.

Big question: do you think business ultimately needs to make stuff? If you do, then the challenges include securing reliable raw materials now that just rocking up somewhere with a big boat full of men with guns doesn't work. Not to mention reliable energy - most customers do not like it if your delivery date depends on the weather. In fact, they really don't like it and will happily pay for some other less carbon-conscious nation to produce it on time. Oh, and having good trade relations with the exceedingly industrially capable neighbours, who should be a manufacturing ally.

But solving those requires having enough people who care. Was it Tim Cook who said something along the lines of "you could fill a conference centre in China with people who just knew about fasteners"?

If you think business doesn't need to make stuff, or "pay enough taxes and abide by enough regulations", well... I'd have to agree with neilwilson. Why should I care, because frankly, what I've seen from the last decade has been Ponzis, gambling for children, money laundering for the worst people in the world, labour law dodges, and 140 character parodies of "debate", and I'm not impressed.

Part of this is standard neoliberalism, but parts of it are valid observations:

> The Conservative Party fell out badly with the business establishment over Brexit and has made few attempts to rebuild bridges. In his most recent address to the Confederation of British Industry, Johnson was so ill prepared that he resorted to making car noises and ad-libbing about Peppa Pig.

It's been quite remarkable how the Conservative party have given up on all business policy other than for their few direct donors. Conversely, UK businesses accepted a huge hit from Brexit without really getting politically engaged beyond the occasional statement from individuals.

In re Oxbridge, the author went to Bailliol.

Edit: the article is also right to slate UK journalism for focusing on the wrong things. Evidently you can say that in the US press, whereas the last time I can remember publicised press criticism making a big deal was Peter Oborne leaving the Telegraph on discovering that advertisers were able to spike news. The "Hacked Off" campaign rumbles along in the background.

The business of Britain is to look after the people of Britain.

Business is a useful assistant in achieving that goal, but the goal comes first.

Business needs to remember that it is servant, not master. The decisions of the British people in democratic elections come first.