Philip Blond, a young British academic, today issues this stirring plea for more localism. He appeals to David Cameron’s Conservative Party to tend to the economic roots of British society. This passage is striking,

Given the destruction of Anglo-Saxon capital and the erosion of the wealth of the nation, the idea that free markets don’t need regulation by common codes and standards is farcical. Adam Smith thought that if capitalism was separated from its Judeo-Christian context and became merely speculative then disaster would ensue.

He was right. Finally the Conservatives should realise that the answer to the current crisis is what they most strongly advocate – localism. The revival of local economies is vital to raising the income and prosperity of all of us.

The same surely applies to America, and everywhere in the developed world. Will the localist message go global?