Democratic nation states remain far more capable of managing the circuit of coercion, taxation and legitimation than any transnational bodies.

A tablet replacing an exercise book is not innovation, it's just a different way to make notes.

So is civil society prepared for the future? Probably not. Most organisations have to live hand to mouth, juggling short-term funding and perpetual minor crises. Even the bigger ones rarely get much time to stand back and look at the bigger picture. Many are on a treadmill chasing after contracts and new funding.

One effect of an individualistic culture that's poor at instilling mutual respect is that people jump more quickly to anger or violence.

Many of the greatest composers and musicians do their best work in extreme confinement but we are seeing it in other fields - uses of technology to link people together in networks to solve problems and almost certainly we'll get better ideas than we would from them just doing it on their own.

The idea of entrepreneurship applies as much in politics, religion, society and the arts as it does in business.

Over 5,000 years, states have made surprisingly consistent claims about their duties. They have promised to protect people from threats; promote their welfare; deliver justice and also, perhaps less obviously, uphold truth - originally truths about the cosmos, and more recently truths drawn from reason and knowledge.