They could see the grass-thatched shed lift and collapse, while a froth of foam cleared the crest of the sand and ran down to the lagoon.

Narcissists may deny their mistakes or flagellate themselves into a froth of self-pitying hatred, but they never laugh at their imperfections.

Two years ago Franck Riboud, the boss of Danone, a French food group, was able to whip up a froth of economic nationalism to ward off the mere threat of a takeover by America’s PepsiCo.