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.

Geoff Mulgan

As the Internet of things advances, the very notion of a clear dividing line between reality and virtual reality becomes blurred, sometimes in creative ways.

Geoff Mulgan

L'Oreal's slogan 'because you're worth it' has come to epitomise banal narcissism of early 21st century capitalism; easy indulgence and effortless self-love all available at a flick of the credit card.

Geoff Mulgan

Science is, rightly, searching for drugs to arrest ageing or to slow the advance of dementia. But the evidence suggests that many of the most powerful factors determining how you age come from what you do, and what you do with others: whether you work, whether you play music, whether you have regular visitors.

Geoff Mulgan

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

Geoff Mulgan

Social innovation thrives on collaboration; on doing things with others, rather than just to them or for them: hence the great interest in new ways of using the web to 'crowdsource' ideas, or the many experiments involving users in designing services.

Geoff Mulgan

Courses can, and should, incorporate the excitement and fun of programming games, apps or even real digital devices.

Geoff Mulgan

All of nationalism can be understood as a kind of collective narcissism.

Geoff Mulgan

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

Geoff Mulgan

Big business increasingly likes to portray itself as socially concerned, adopting the style of civic action through 'campaigns' of varying degrees of cynicism.

Geoff Mulgan

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

Geoff Mulgan

A modest dose of self-love is entirely healthy - who would want to live in a world where everyone hated themselves? But taken too far, it soon becomes poisonous.

Geoff Mulgan

Immigration isn't always good for the economy or jobs.

Geoff Mulgan

Huge sums are invested globally in medical research and development - and with good reason.

Geoff Mulgan

The responsibility for good government lies not just with governments themselves but also with every other part of the system they operate in, including media, non-governmental organisations and the public.

Geoff Mulgan

As a civil servant in charge of the government's Strategy Unit, I brought in many people from outside government, including academia and science, to work in the unit, dissecting and solving complex problems from GM crops to alcohol, nuclear proliferation to schools reform.

Geoff Mulgan

Lots of creativity is and should be solitary.

Geoff Mulgan

People don't want charities to usurp the state as the core provider of social services.

Geoff Mulgan

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

Geoff Mulgan

The end of life is likely to be an important focus for innovation. Most people die in hospitals, tied up with tubes and with their bodies pumped full of drugs. Yet most would rather die at home and with more control over the timing and manner of their death.

Geoff Mulgan

Computing should be taught as a rigorous - but fun - discipline covering topics like programming, database structures, and algorithms. That doesn't have to be boring.

Geoff Mulgan