Government as Marketing

Is the role of prime minister set to become merely that of Marketing Director for Britain plc?  Is Tony Blair simply a salesman?  And does it matter? Richard Reeves in this week's New Statesman outlines a vision of individuals, procuring quality of life services from an enabling State whose principal role is to safeguard the intangible assets of Britain Inc.  Reeves writes on the rise of the individual: "The individual is steadily replacing the collective as the site of political action, analysis and conflict.  The point here is not that everyone is becoming more selfish, but that the self is beconing a more important unit of politics that the class or the group.  At the same time, the level of undstanding of what makes individuals tick has vastly overtaken theories of society.  And a greater understanding of individual processes will become more important to politicians, too.  Many of the changes they want to bring about -  better heath, more stable family life, greater productivity - rely upon individual action." If Reeves is right - and he surely is - then as we move from a providing or dictating state towards one which 'enables', then the disciplines of marketing will become critical to maintaining the value of public services.  The state must co-ordinate a wide variety of individual, often private service providers.  But in order to maintain the PERCEIVED quality of these services, it must become more and more adept at managing expectations. The future of government is public service marketing.  Are we ready for it?