Capitalism is cool again at the Beeb

Well, if Gordon Brown says so and you have a BBC show to plug:

“I hate the idea of creating a committee or a quango for this purpose, but a focussed group with a clear objective to create a new blueprint for entrepreneurial flair in Britain wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Let’s bring together the relevant government bodies, private companies, leaders in education and gurus from all walks of life and see if we can find a way of channelling all this energy and interest in business into something productive for future generations.

But if you want something exciting or even sexy to happen as a result, my advice would be: put an entrepreneur in charge.

Catch up on Peter Jones’s £175,000 Dragons’ Den investment in a new publishing venture in a special programme featuring the original contestants from the Dragons’ Den one year on: Dragons’ Den: Where are they now?, 7pm, BBC Two, Wednesday 21 December.

Absolutely shameless.

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11 Responses to Capitalism is cool again at the Beeb

  1. JH says:

    So will Peter Jones and the Dragons Den team be criticising the stifling regulation and meddling which is such a feature of Brown’s chancllorship and which has most small businessmen I know tearing theor hair out in frustration? Move along move along, nothing to see here.

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  2. Chief Wiggum says:

    I’m sure you’ll all be watching it though, then discussing new tactics on the golf course the next day and in the club house with a few cigars, while complaining bitterly about that “socialist” Brown.

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  3. Toby says:

    CW – Don’t forget the endangered animal canapés washed down with Cristal!

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  4. JH says:

    I dont have to watch Dragons Den to complain about that ‘socialist’ Brown. Why the BBC style inverted commas CW? Judge him by actions since 1997 – Red tape, meddling, stealth taxation.

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  5. mrdgriff says:

    Chancellor (King Con) Brown knows that the only way to finance his grand socialist utopia is with tax receipts. Every little helps, TV Tax, Customs & Revenue Fines, Car Tax (not used for cars but to punish car owners for being individualists) and so on, any excuse will do including global warming.

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  6. Socialism is Necrotizing says:

    Watching the BBC promoting Capitalismm is like watching your mother doing the Macarena.

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  7. Rob Read says:

    All that’s needed to promote capitalism is for property rights and legal agreements to be enforced and the state to get the hell out of the way.

    “a focussed group with a clear objective to create a new blueprint for entrepreneurial flair” LOL! We really think we can fly by standing in a bucket and pulling the handle hard enough.

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  8. Rob says:

    Is this meant to be award winning journalism or just a re-written press release?

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4536172.stm

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  9. Rob Read says:

    I wonder how much Alfred Hermida paid for his phone…

    I’m going to go out on a limb and say his motorola cost him nothing…

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  10. Flying Giraffe says:

    I like watching Dragon’s Den for the drama of it, but a couple of observations:

    The majority of hopefuls on the show seem to be inventors of products rather than people actually starting businesses. That’s fine, but what they most need is constructive advice, encouragement and being pointed in the right direction. But most of them just cop unnecessary insults just for the sake of some tabloid-level confrontational TV. I can’t help thinking this would put some people off starting a business • in keeping with the BBC’s credo of keeping the proles well away from the evils of capitalism.

    As an entrepreneur myself, I would hate to go on the show, though would be more than happy to meet Theo, Peter or Doug privately whom I am sure would treat people very differently than the demands of the show require (not keen on the thuggish Scottish guy who never seems to invest or Rachel who comes across as a bit ditzy but seems to be the token woman • surely they could have found someone else??).

    BTW Do the Dragons pay the BBC a commission for introducing them to business opportunities, as would happen in the real world? Or is this a free investment-finding service provided to rich people at license payers’ expense?

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  11. Rob Read says:

    Flying Giraffe,
    Perhaps the BBC want to make it look like it’s harder to gear/fund your business idea than it really is out there (My company has turned down 3 unpitched VC/PC offers so far)?

    Perhaps they want to portray the VCs as nasty because the BBC mentality doesn’t like the idea of people “making money out of money”?

    Perhaps like all Champagne socialists they like the idea of “easy” money?

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