Conscious Society: The Politics of Behaviour

He has spent most of 2013 using that attitude to dig his way out of a mess that is a direct product of that attitude.

Here's what Albert Einstein would say to the Prime Minister: "We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."

It is, tragically, not a lesson a functionally fixed man is capable of learning.  Functional fixedness is not an individual problem, though - society as a whole is chafing against a model that has outlived its viability.

The way forward requires new tools, used in new ways.  Fortunately, there's hope for us yet:

The use of behavioral insights from economics and psychology to influence how people interact with public services.  Through a better understanding of how people think - from biases to defaults - governments are redesigning services in ways that encourage citizens to choose healthier, safer lives.

Know thyself, in other words.  For society to be truly healthy, it must live consciously.