The trend for mass entrepreneurship, meanwhile, has been growing since the early part of the 21st century on the back of cheaper technology, broadband in the home and communication tools and services such as Skype.
The recession is only going to force more people to realise that the cushy corporate jobs won't be coming back and encourage them into freelance work, a lifestyle business, family enterprise or portfolio career.
Ecademy, a business networking community, understood this a decade ago. Today more than 450,000 freelance businesspeople and SOHO (small office, home office) people connect around the world at Ecademy events.
The smaller the unit of accountability, the more intact it is. The problem with big structures is simply that no one is accountable. You can hide
Avon is another organisation that understood individual capitalism ahead of its time. There are Avon women who never thought they could do anything extraordinary who have now realised that they have an innate ability to sell, build businesses, inspire teams, be beautiful and think creatively.
Paul Barry-Walsh, one of the UK's most successful IT entrepreneurs, used his millions to set up the Fredericks Foundation. It is the largest micro-finance organisation in the UK and has given more than 600 loans to date to single mothers, the disabled and ex-convicts.
The smaller the unit of accountability, the more intact it is. How well we know that if we join a larger organisation or team, we have less say on what happens and less blame if things go wrong. The problem with big structures is simply that no one is accountable. You can hide.
We are fortunate that there are people who choose to live abnormal lives to bring new products and services to life. Nick Ogden, the founder of Voice Commerce and WorldPay, once said that he was most proud of "never missing payroll". Real entrepreneurs put their team before themselves and understand real coal-face accountability.
If we want to see more Charles Dunstones, more Anita Roddicks and more Brent Hobermans, we need to cheer that greatness when it starts to emerge. We need to get people working to build entrepreneurial businesses like the Holt family did in Newcastle with Holt Estates, creating a community of arts, crafts and industry rejuvenated out of the old industrial side of town.
With each exit of a business through acquisition, releasing cash to the founders, there are dozens of others who share in the upside as well. Some will live off that memory for the rest of their lives. Some will use the experience to drive themselves to become entrepreneurs themselves.
The UK's entrepreneurial culture is built on the sweat and spirit of British industriousness and expertise. The new businesspeople who are emerging need to ever so politely insist that people are left to build society on the back of their businesses and successes.
So the next time someone threatens to redefine capitalism, ask them what brand of capitalism they intend to promote. The wave of individual capitalism is the biggest long-term enabling trend for the 21st century and brings only positives to society.
For more information visit www.ariadnecapital.com
