Davos, a gathering of the world's elite, could not be further from the idea of digital hippies, but it serves an important role, Le Meur says.

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Mischel had nothing against hippies, but he wanted modern psychology to be rigorous and empirical.

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And while some may be inclined to dismiss them as a cult of upstart hippies, their behavior is more vintage and classically conservative than nouveau and socialist, most closely representing the habits of our grandparents and their parents.

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That's not what the Treasury is saying now - probably because ministers have discovered that those sandal-wearing, vegan, financial hippies throng the backbenches of their parties (even the Tory party) and seem to be bossing around even the influential Treasury Select Committee.

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