UK
Britain is going through a difficult time, when its sustained ability to punch above its weight, economically and diplomatically, is ebbing. The end of irrational exuberance found the country ill at ease with itself, with rising inequalities and unhealthy nationalism, just when it needs to be fleet-footed in recognising that many of the traditional pillars of its strengths have changed. The need is to recognise other supports and partners and find a new common purpose after the pandemic. I live in hope.
a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in
What made manchester greater was a combination of a moist climate, imperialism, routes to market like the manchester ship canal and a sustained knack for innovation and marketing, which somewhere along the line was lost to profit-taking, brain drain, an inability to see and seize change and inevitable decline. A crucial ingredient was the existence of an elite that had social capital, money-making zeal, civic pride, responsibility and an ethos to build a just and prosperous society in its own image. This was a central point of my speech to the city's st james club.
Attached File: 100617, St James Manchester.doc