Quite radical views, don’t tell the boss he’ll think I’m some kind of subversive

Quite frankly, Kier, I’d much rather hear your views on this subject than mine. As one of the few true intellectuals in affiliate marketing, I have always enjoying reading your analysis of things.

For what it’s worth, I personally believe that as long as we live in an economic system in which the be-all and end-all is output, the quality of lives for the majority will remain poor as workers struggle to earn sufficient income to survive and then, as they become wealthier and their basic hierarchy of needs are satisified, to buy (unnecessary) material goods. We need to (a) rethink the economic framework within which we operate and (b) adopt a more wholesome world view which enables to consider whether we really do need to own 15 pairs of shoes and buy those shiny new 4×4s advertised on the tele.

What’s your take Sir Kier of Covent Garden?

Also, I think a lot of the figures that are bandied about showing the ’success’ of Anglo-Saxon capitalism fail to address two key issues - firstly, beyond the satisfaction of basic needs, money categorically does not make people happier. As Ayrton Senna once commented, ‘Money is a strange business. People who haven’t got it aim for it strongly; people who have it are full of troubles.’

Man is only partially an economic animal, and any system which does not acknowledge that is destined to fail. Figures such as GDP per capita measure GDP per capita. They do not measure sociability, warmth, insight, friendliness, seksiness, trustworthiness or linguistic aptitude.

Secondly, the figures tell us nothing about distribution of income, or what this income buys. The UK may have overtaken France in terms of overall GDP, and this is not to be sneeezed at, but taking a closer look as to what that actually means for most people shows that this is not as impressive as it looks.

Most people in France travel on beautifully-maintained highways, enjoy some of the best public transport anywhere in the world, have access to affordable housing and top-notch healthcare, and typically have shorter working hours and longer holidays than people in the UK.

Most people in the UK are subjected to a transportation infrastructure which is held up by blu-tac, pay some of the highest taxes anywhere in the developed world, have lives which are dominated by work (especially in the top 50% of the employment market), and cannot afford to buy a property commensurate with reasonable expectations.

Of course, the top 15% in Britain are amazingly well-off, but if you are in the bottom 85%, then good luck!

Personally, I think that the more democratic parts of East Asia yield the best model - they have strong growth, incredible economic and technological sophistication, and at the same time they have a high degree of participatory democracy and social order. We have much to learn from countries such as Taiwan, Korea Republic and Japan, though they are by no means perfect societies.