The G 20 s central task, therefore, must be to establish a framework for strong and sustainable growth. Member states need to introduce reforms aimed at achieving a 2 annual growth target, as agreed earlier this year by finance ministers.

These are timeless questions but, in an era of increased and instantaneous communication, centralized, big government bureaucracies are creaking or worse. People want more effective and more affordable government that responds to their concerns, and are demanding that decisions be decentralized.