What today’s global market economy teaches many of us who are involved in political life is that even when they are inconvenient, the laws of economies, like the laws of physics, cannot be repealed for the convenience of governments. The economic principles for national success are as difficult to implement as they are easy to state. There is a paradox in all our countries. Just as a new global economy creates more to look forward to than ever before, it also brings more uncertainty and more change to worry about than ever before.
That is why the challenge of crafting economy policy in your country as in mine is one of balance. A balance between moving toward necessary objectives and maintaining stability. A balance between responding to global realities and upholding domestic traditions. And a balance between the virtues of competition as the best known motivator and driver of success, and the importance of cohesion and cooperation as sources of strength for our societies. These balances will have to be struck and calibrated every year in every country in this new global economy. If one looks at the success over the long term of the economy in any developed country, more than any scientific innovation, what has been important is a potent social innovation. This is what one might call the intangible infrastructure of a modern market economy.
