The noted moral philosopher Adam Smith once observed that there is ‘a great deal of ruin in a nation’. He was referring specifically to Britain’s ability to withstand a few overseas military humiliations in the US War of Independence. But more generally the point was that it takes an awful lot of bungling by political leaders to really bring down a powerful and prosperous state.
So, basically, though it sounds somehow pessimistic, the message is: don’t be disheartened by temporary downturns and moral panics. We have all been here before and we have the resources to re-nourish ourselves and rise again in the spring. To build our sand castles afresh between each high tide of woe.
