At another, some of its 'modernisation' actually becomes the reverse, setting back causes it holds dear. The Government assumes that what matters is making the numbers. If that were the case, with its enviable unemployment and growth rates, tax and inward investment levels, the UK would be the toast of Europe. Not so much Third Way as Third World, as the German magazine Stern tartly put it. Take productivity, where the Chancellor has launched yet another initiative to bridge the gap between the UK and its closest rivals.
Productivity is complex.
But because the Treasury insists on seeing it only in quantifiable economic terms, the Government will pass up a fine opportunity to make a difference by focusing on the 'soft' issues. The opportunity exists because, although the causalities are far from clear, a mountain of research now demonstrates beyond ambiguity that there is a link between performance and good management of people. Other things being equal, the more people work in teams, know and help set objectives, get feedback and are communicated with, the better an organisation performs. How and why these linkages function needs further work. But you might think that people management would rank among the priorities on the productivity agenda - a unique opportunity to treat both the mental and physical malaises of the 'English patient'.