The government's economic strategy isn't working. The post-crisis hangover remains, with growth subdued and recovery elusive and there's little on the horizon to stimulate the optimism and confidence needed to kick start the vibrant economy needed to secure sustainable growth and future prosperity. As Keynes claimed, investment is not driven by simple tax cuts but by the much less predictable "animal spirits" of investors, and such spirits are not currently running high.
Why? Current economic policy is based on the false premise that innovation-led growth will only happen if we pull back the role of the state and unleash the power of entrepreneurship in the private sector. This feeds a perceived contrast that is repeatedly drawn by the media, business and libertarian politicians of a dynamic, innovative, competitive private sector versus a sluggish, bureaucratic, inertial, "meddling" public sector. So much so that it is virtually accepted by the public as a "common sense" truth. In the March 2011 Cardiff Spring Forum, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, brought this view to an extreme when he called "bureaucrats in government departments" the "enemies of enterprise".
To read the full, original article click on this link: New Statesman - The state doesn't need the private sector to be entrepreneurial
Author:Mariana Mazzucato
