Putting the Catalyst among the Pigeons

We are here to discuss how education and industry can forge a more effective partnership, so that we can match the professionalism of our rivals in world markets. Our context is Britain as an industrial and commercial nation faced with the basic need to survive and prosper in those markets. Because without such success, without the big enough resources which can come only from that success, it really is pointless to talk about values or the kind of society we would ideally like to see. Except for saints, there is very little nobility or spiritual uplift in poverty. When people talk glibly about the post‐industrial society being a good thing, they fail to recognise the reality under their noses — our urban problem areas. Never let us forget that one possible future for Britain, when the oil‐lake finally runs down, is a swift descent into Third World status.