Stop bashing the bankers already

You remember the decisive scene in The Social Network, the excellent film about Facebook. It is when he goes to the bankers and outlines his scheme. You bet, says the money man. Half a million dollars? says the fellow. No problemo. Be my guest. That is one of the reasons why America has Facebook and Google and Amazon, and that is why – if we are to compete – we need to ensure we have a confident and dynamic banking sector.

It is time for British politicians to say it loud and clear and in unison: we need bankers, my friends! We need bankers who are not just cautious, owlish Polonius figures. We need bankers who are willing to take punts and put their necks on the line. Yes, by all means arrest anyone who has been involved in a criminal conspiracy to fix Libor. Bang ’em up. Slam ’em away. But we need the political establishment in this country to stop slagging off a sector that is utterly crucial to the British economy and the current system of global capitalism – and after four years of navel-gazing since the crash, we have yet to come up with an alternative.