Can Government be Enterprising?

Abstract

Supporters of the enterprise economy believed that there was a link between enterprise, reward and revenue on the one hand, and between efficiency, effort and profit on the other; they were linked by private firms operating in competitive markets. However, in addition to the practical problems which we have already examined, there are at least two further difficulties. In the first place, not all entrepreneurs are fully or only motivated by monetary rewards; and, in the second, many goods and services cannot be supplied in competitive markets at all.

Controls are necessary in some areas to ensure that the market works humanely, fairly and efficiently. These must be maintained.

(Norman Tebbit, Burdens on Business, DTI, 1985)

The Tory party has never been only the party of enterprise, and has never been the party of laissez faire.

(Ronald Butt, The Times, 15 July 1991)