How can you tell when a developed country is on a fast-track to becoming a failing or failed state? Does it only become official when Christiane Amanpour – CNN’s chief international correspondent – shows up with a documentary crew to chronicle a nation’s unchecked decline? Or can a big, fat “FAILED” stamp be applied long before there’s enough material to persuade an advertiser to sponsor the show?

Last Sunday I returned to Britain after a week spent weaving through Switzerland visiting clients, seeing friends and imagining the future of the media with my colleagues. Over the course of the weekend a large part of our conversation focused on the wave of knife crimes and general disorder that is currently suffocating the UK. There was a collective sense of disbelief and embarrassment when we read that some clever spark advising the Home Secretary wanted to take young knife wielders into hospitals and family sitting rooms to meet victims and distraught parents alike.