Lord Mandelson on government intervention

There's an interesting point that Lord Mandelson makes early on in his speech at the New Industry New Jobs conference, where he talks about a 'synthesis' between the 'interventionist' and 'pro-market' schools of thought i.e. using one approach doesn't necessarily preclude the other.

I like this way of thinking because it fits with my overall view of life and business: creating balance (you'll probably have noticed this theme running through a few of the other blog posts). Essentially what Lord Mandelson is saying, is that government shouldn't seek to dictate how business is done, or who's in the market, but it should provide assistance and skills drives where a lack of funding or knowledge could prevent necessary growth.

The example given is where the government has given funding for renewable chemical firms that have the skills in place, but not the capital they need to make their research a reality. This is what he terms 'capacity building'.

It might be conceited to say it, but at 2nd Head, capacity building is really what we're all about. Not just in the terms of providing financial support, but also through offering businesses the tools they need to support themselves in long-term growth, rather than simply rocking up and doing it for them - surely that's more about control than support. It's the microcosm to the government's macrosmic works, but each effort, regardless of scale, should go some way to making a difference to the market and keeping a sense of balance in place.

In such turbulent economic times that will hopefully come as a long-needed relief.