The film argues that Hong Kong's social and economic success is attributable to the positive non-interventionism implemented in 1961 by John James Cowperthwaite. In the film, Durkin argued that increasing public spending would stunt the economy instead of reviving it.
According to the film, Hong Kong's achievements are linked to Cowperthwaite's non-intrusive measures of 1961. The movie also posits that Durkin believed increasing government expenditures would be detrimental to economic growth instead of stimulating it.