I heard someone say that none of the Labour Party front bench have ever set up, run or sold a business. This was a criticism.
The idea that business acumen translates to effective government is one of the most persistent myths in politics – and one of the most dangerous. We’ve seen it play out time and again, and the results are consistently catastrophic. The latest instalment of this delusion is currently unfolding in America, where a disgraced businessman is once again running the country like one of his failed casinos. And across the pond, Britain has spent the last 14 years proving that a government full of so-called business brains doesn’t necessarily equate to competent governance.
Trump's return to power is a lesson in how business does not equal leadership. His entire career is a catalogue of failure, from multiple bankruptcies to fraudulent schemes, yet his supporters hold up his "business success" as evidence of his ability to govern. Now back in office, he continues to dismantle democratic institutions, roll back civil rights, and embolden extremists, all while treating the presidency as a personal brand expansion exercise. If business credentials are a prerequisite for good leadership, why is the United States sliding towards authoritarianism under his rule? Why does his administration resemble a protection racket rather than a functioning government?
Meanwhile, in the UK, the Tories packed their cabinets with hedge fund managers, ex-bankers, and corporate insiders – and yet they led the country into economic stagnation and social decline. Rishi Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs man, presided over a period where ordinary people were forced to choose between heating and eating. Liz Truss, champion of deregulation and market forces, managed to send the pound into freefall in record time. Kwasi Kwarteng, hailed as an economic thinker, designed a budget so disastrous that mortgage rates skyrocketed overnight. These were not anomalies; they were the inevitable outcomes of a governing philosophy that prioritises market ideology over public welfare.
The reality is that running a country is nothing like running a business. A CEO answers to shareholders and the bottom line; a prime minister or president is supposed to serve the people. Businesses thrive on cutting costs, increasing efficiency, and maximising profit. Governments exist to maintain social order, protect public services, and ensure economic stability – even if that means running things that aren’t "profitable" in a business sense, such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure. The argument that business experience is necessary for understanding the economy is equally flawed. Economists, policymakers, and civil servants routinely develop and implement economic strategies without having personally started a company. By the logic of some, no one could be qualified to manage public finances unless they once ran a corner shop.
History is not on the side of the "businessman-leader" myth, either. If business nous were a guarantee of strong governance, Alan Sugar and Richard Branson would have been among our greatest prime ministers. Instead, Britain's most successful leaders include Pitt the Younger, who took office at 24 with no business experience, and Churchill, whose leadership was forged in war, not in balance sheets. Leadership isn’t about market strategy; it’s about vision, judgment, and the ability to act in the interests of an entire nation.
The final proof lies in the world’s recent economic and political disasters. Silvio Berlusconi ran Italy as a personal empire, to the detriment of the nation. Argentina’s flirtation with free-market extremism led to economic collapse. Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil embraced corporate deregulation and saw increased inequality and environmental destruction. And now, we watch as Trump’s America teeters on the edge, driven not by democratic principles but by self-interest and a grifter’s instinct.
If business credentials truly guaranteed good governance, we would be living in an economic utopia. Instead, we see the consequences of letting profiteers and free-market evangelists run nations. The lesson is clear: business acumen does not make a great leader, and electing businessmen to run governments is a sure-fire way to end up with disaster.
No comments:
Post a Comment