Writing in the early 1720s, ‘Cato’ warned that international trade would not favour Britain so long as our Government used the Royal Navy to bully other countries. Trade, he said, was delicate and easily discouraged; left to herself she had the power to effect astonishing transformations in our standard of living, but any kind of violence was a mortal blow.

‘Cato’ went on to lament the culture of corruption prevailing in government circles, which would never permit reform. Where ministers have too much power, they favour the careers of men who share their own vices; and long before he reached the top of the ladder, any man whose integrity set him apart would have become like all the rest.

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