Dr Oliver Sparrow, political scientist and descendant of Liberal prime minister, William Gladstone, fears that the speed of technical, economic and social change will swamp the British government in the next 20 years unless it changes the way it does business.
He tells Evan Davis how it can be done and argues his case with Peter Mandelson, Anne Widdecombe and Lord David Steel in Big Ideas (Sunday, 7.40 p.m., BBC 2).
If those sure-winner products are to rake in the profits they must be tested for safety. Carol Vorderman presents film footage of the dramatic experiments that take place in research centres around the world in Tested to Destruction (Monday, 7.00 p.m., UTV).
Shopaholics may be a retailer's dream but for the addicted purchaser it can be a nightmare. Shopping From Hell (Tuesday, 9.00 p.m., UTV) includes the stories of a woman who owes £10,000 and a shoplifter who cannot resist stealing.
The consumer society was born after the second World War, which, while it left Europe in tatters, did develop new techniques which were exploited for public use. Programme six of Our Century: Westwards Eastwards (Tuesday, 10.40 p.m., RTE 1) covers 1945 to 1958.
As Dublin chokes with gridlock which wastes businesses valuable time, and Quality Bus Corridors are alternatively lauded and derided, Traffic: Off the Rails (Thursday, 8.00 p.m. BBC 2) looks at how France achieves quick, efficient and comfortable transport in double-decker trains. But it was no quick-fix in France which spent decades investing in the transport system and supporting it with government subsidies.
