You joke, I think, but I do think a solid welfare state delivers benefits that a mainstream economist would recognise. I fancy the long-term prospects if a country with a safety net higher than one without, all other things being equal. I see more inherent value in the public sector than the private.

Unfortunately the private sector has dominated the zeitgeist for decades; a kind of meta-regulatory-capture, if you will.

I can't trust that there will be a state pension waiting for me. So I'm in the private sector. Got some bonds in my mix, at least.