The foundational economy is a matter of everyday routines which depend on a social infrastructure of providential services like health, social care and education and the material networks of pipes and cables that connect every household. This cannot be understood on the assumption that there is a clear divide between a productive private sector and a resource-consuming public sector. The economy is not a system of wealth creation led by the private sector but a system of revenue circulation which is failing to deliver foundational welfare. This is because of underinvestment in systems and over-reliance on distribution of market incomes through employment. There are relatively few good jobs in the high-tech and knowledge intensive sectors; and too many badly paid, precarious jobs in mundane activities.