The writer, an FT contributing editor, is?chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts and former chief economist at the Bank of England

“I am a firestarter.” So sang Keith Flint, the late lead singer of techno-punk band The Prodigy. With so many fires burning globally, both literal and metaphorical, you might think it would be the worst possible moment to be taking Flint’s lyrics to heart when setting public policy. Or perhaps it is the best. 

“Creative destruction” was first popularised in the 20th century by the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, though its roots can be traced back to the writings of Karl Marx. The Marx-Schumpeter hypothesis is that, over the arc of history, the fastest-growing and most dynamic economies have moved fast (the creative bit) and broken things (the destructive bit).