Painting each other's nails for a living

Laban has a post on the decline of Britain's economic power. He quotes some interesting passages:

The loss of manufacturing expertise will compromise our military strength. History repeatedly shows the correlation between a nation's wealth and its diplomatic and military powers.

A valid point, though perhaps an old-fashioned one. Not to say that it doesn't apply now, of course it does, but the main reason for Britain's decline is not economic decline but the collapse (no other word for it) in the will of our political class to defend Britain's national interests above all else. You can have twenty carrier groups, but if your collective mind is obsessed with internationalism and 'soft power', you will never use them, and your threats to use them have no credibility.

we now produce only 3,000 physics graduates a year. Compare that to an astonishing 15,000 psychologists

Every now again some harmless looking statement just jumps out of the internet and punches you flat. Does the work of a psychologist increase GDP? It's arguable either way, I would say it doesn't. And when the economy is growing due to the efforts of others, the effect is obscured. When we nosedive into recession, as we are now, what then?