I think BJC has a very fine point when he references the understanding of 'creation of wealth'.
A slight off-thread response, if I may.
in the 19th century, the image that many people would have had of the 'creation of wealth' would have had something to do with, I would suggest, three things:
Ideas and innovation
Investment
Last, but by no means least - Hard work.
Whether at the highest or lowest levels in society, if you weren't involved in one, two or all three of these things, you had to have inherited wealth to survive.
I think this would safely apply to farming, industy, engineering and trade.
I also think that this was so during the 20th century up until, say, the 60s.
What happened next?
Well, in the UK we began to see de-industrialisation. Where goods became cheaper to source from outside the nation and where the manipulation of money and the growth of financial services suckered the government and the people into believing that this was the future.
The idea of the creation of wealth via manufacturing and 'adding value' seemed to be lost, and with it the need to train and educate your skilled tradesmen and engineers.
In the UK, until some time around the late 70s, there were numerous technical colleges involved in engineering industry training programmes. Now, in the region where I live, they see so little need/value in this sort of work that the three technical colleges accessible from my home town have moved all their capabilities onto one site, thus slashing the availability of the course by 60 or 70%.
You can get plenty of courses on hotel management, catering and hairdressing, by the way (BJC - were they all on Ark 'C'?)
So, where is it going?
Personally, my own view is too fogged by information and experience to see clearly.
If your ecoomy if too focussed on 'investment' and 'financial services' rather than a balanced mix of finance, trade, industry and agriculture, how will a nation fare in the teeth of an international recession?
If your car industry can't compete with low-cost labour and minimal regulation in China shouldn't you be looking at higher-tech products with greater added-value. or should you loan China the money to develop their car industry for your own short-term gain?
My opinion, for what it's worth:
Rounded education and fundamental technical skill, whatever industry it's in, provides the foundation for stable industry. It may not provide the fat cats with the opportunity for humongous salaries and ginormous bonuses, but it's probably what provides the mass of a population with an income, one way or another.
Bill
we had a nice fight over the kitchen table) think that the computer was a French invention but IBM somehow stole the idea. When you question them it turns out that the basis behind this idea is that Pascal was French. When you answer that for example Boole was British, they go "Who??".
