Let's try and investigate - really rigorously and with an open mind - cases where things go right, not just when they do not. Are there not powerful lessons to be learnt right under our noses?

A positive condition is characterised by much more than just the absence of the negative. Good health is not just the absence of symptoms of ill-health but the presence of all the many things that work together to ensure inner resilience. So too it is in society. An environmentally sustainable economy is not just the relative absence of pollution. Real security is not just the absence of crime.

Good safety is just not an absence of accidents but the presence of proactive systems of risk management and strong safety culture (an organisation's immune system). Too much of our political discourse is focused on response (often very costly) to crises and problems and does not delve deeply enough into their causation to better strengthen prevention (which is not just better but cheaper too).