World has fallen out of love with us

Jan 29 2009 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

ONCE, business was associated with middle-aged men and golf courses, with pin stripes and Rotary lunches – then it became sexy.

Suddenly business was the new black. Perhaps it was Tony Blair coming to power in 1997 and giving business – at least rich businessmen – his then untainted blessing, welcoming them as fully paid-up (often literally) members of Cool Britannia.

Almost overnight, we saw an explosion of business-dedicated media outlets. Greg Dyke, then director-general of the BBC, ordered an expansion of business coverage and Evan Davies and Robert Peston became household names.

Telly luvvies, who previously wouldn’t have soiled their hands with sordid trade or been seen dead in a ditch with an entrepreneur, were supplying Alan Sugar with apprentices and furnishing the Dragons with their Den.

Is all that about to change? Has the recession – as we can now call it – ended our love affair with business?

One straw in the wind could be a new survey which indicates that worldwide trust in business is collapsing. An Edelman Trust Barometer survey of ‘informed adults’ aged 25 to 64 reveals that 62% of them trust business less than they did a year ago.

A surprising detail of the survey is that people in developing countries were the least likely to say they had had their faith in business shaken. I would have expected the peoples of China or India with only recent experiences of capitalism to be more disillusioned than those of us living in more advanced economies.

But maybe it’s because the full effects of the downturn have yet to hit them, unlike say the US where earlier in the week another 60,000 job losses were announced.

It is extremely unfair on business, or at least on the vast majority of businesses.

Our current difficulties were not caused by manufacturers, nor retailers, nor advertisers, nor window cleaners.

No, we are where we are thanks to bankers and politicians and it is neither just nor sensible that their irresponsibility and hubris should undermine confidence in what will remain, like it or not, the wealth- generating part of the economy.

Let’s remember, some (small) elements of the business world may have got us into this mess, but one thing is for sure – only business can get us out of it.

Peter Jackson is a freelance writer and former business editor of The Journal – p.jackson77@btinternet.com