The title is inspired by President John F Kennedy’s mission to send a man to the moon and back: Mission Economy tells the story of Nasa’s Apollo programme and the lessons it teaches us. From confronting the climate crisis to improving health and wellbeing, Mission Economy offers a method to tackle the great challenges facing societies globally. Mazzucato invites us to imagine government that “bears the greatest level of uncertainty and reforms … itself to take risks”. It is styled as a “how to” guide for policymakers who want to unleash the full potential of the state to solve some of the great challenges of the 21st century.
Mission Economy takes the argument forward. The traditional framework confuses prices with value, meaning social goods are only examined for their costs rather than their social benefits. This was followed by The Value of Everything in 2018, which demolished the widely held belief that a narrow economic elite was the wealth creator. In her landmark 2013 book The Entrepreneurial State she invited us to rethink the role that the state could have in the creation of wealth. Mazzucato aims to infuse capitalism with public interest rather than private gain. By focusing on the immense power of governments to shape markets, she argues that capitalism itself can be remade. The case for a new approach is overwhelming and Mariana Mazzucato’s project is ambitious. Mission Economy offers a path to rejuvenate the state and thereby mend capitalism, rather than end it. But contrasting international experiences reveal otherwise: the correct response to the pandemic is to demand better government, not less.
Free marketers argue that these problems are inherent to the state. But therein lies what might seem to be a paradox: just as we have needed a strong, capable government, those in power have been exposed as clueless and incompetent. It has also demonstrated the power and importance of the state in a crisis. The bungled response of the government to the pandemic – from the failure to enforce lockdown early enough to the test and trace debacle – has exposed the depth of the rot. These failures were enabled by the retreat of the state from guiding and directing the economy from the Thatcher era to today. Business is bedevilled by low investment, short-term management and corporate greed. Most people have experienced stagnant wages and seen no improvement in living standards a wealthy elite has accumulated more and more while helping to destroy the planet. T he charge sheet against 40 years of British capitalism is as damning as it is familiar.
0 kommentar(er)
