Letwin is on to something

It's easy to knock Oliver Letwin over his econ/socio paradigm lingo in The Times today. What is it in this country when we sneer at intellectuals or people with more than half a brain? Read his speech carefully and you can see that the Tories are really on to something. Over the past few months, David Cameron has made a series of speeches on "social responsibility". In the speech today, Mr Letwin now provides the intellectual underpinning. Today's speech sets out the view that David Cameron has identified the most pressing cause of our times - that of social disintegration. The real problems that face our country are not the economy (although of course taxation could and should be less and regulations fewer), but community breakdown and social disorder. Mr Cameron's view is that these problems can't be solved by the State, but through voluntary action by individuals, families and communities who are incentivised to act responsibly - rather than controlled or directed by the State.

Social Responsibility has the advantage in that it is an idea that is embodied in Conservative principles of working with the grain of human nature rather than against it. It represents an updated version of Burke's "little platoons" for our times.

If the Conservatives can develop meaningful policies to flesh out social responsibility and explain how it will work in practice, then there just could be a real kernel of an idea and a substantive programme for government. One thing is sure, the Social Responsibility agenda is not Cameron "fluff" - it is an idea that could prove to have profound meaning in the months to come.

To read more by Watlington, see Watlington.