In praise of shopkeepers and sellers

But just as Britain led the world into industrialisation, so now Britain is leading it out. Today you can still find a few British engineers and scientists making jet engines and pharmaceuticals--and doing rather well at it. But many more are cooking up algorithms for hedge funds and investment banks--where in many cases they add more value. The economy has boomed these past 15 years, as manufacturing has been left behind and London has become the world's leading international financial centre. Britain's deficit in manufactured goods is hitting record highs. But so are the capital inflows.

And it's all Napoléon's fault, apparently...

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes