There are two parts of the economy and society: the infrastructure (the platform), and the dynamic market layer.
The infrastructure is the roads, education, housing, rules
The Platform State is the idea that government’s core job is building and managing the infrastructure layer - housing, energy, transport, universities - competently enough so the dynamic layer of the economy (business, family life, innovation) can thrive on top of it.
The argument is not about bigger state or a smaller one, but a state that’s good at the specific job of building the substrate.
Where it fails, prove the point by building parallel institutions in pilot areas (free zones) that outperform the incumbents on measurable delivery - and let them earn replacement rather than decree it.
The end of the left-right axis. The start of the platform state.
What is the infrastructure layer?
Basic level of housing
Roads
Railway
Decision-making mechanisms
Energy and the grid
Legal
Water & sanitation
Digital and telecoms infrastructure
Immigration
The currency and payments system / central bank
Data system
The legal system
Education
Healthcare
Defense and national security
Media is part of the infrastructure and dynamic layer - the sharing of data and education is infrastructure. The critical analysis is part of the dynamic layer.
Skills & talent development
What is the dynamic layer? That the state shouldn’t do
Everything else
Picking based on values rather than on metrics
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cuAM7wnqLbVrGxUXoVrbRbGuBXQrKgYX/view?usp=sharing