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.
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