Mission Economy

Mission Economy

A moonshot guide to changing capitalism

“A timely and optimistic vision. Rethinking the role of government nationally and in the international economy - to put public purpose first and solve the problems that matter to people - are now the central questions for humanity.”
Nature magazine

“Mission Economy” has been published in 19 countries: Brazil (Companhia das Letras), Estonia (Varrak), Finland (Terra Cognita), France (Fayard), Germany (Campus), Greece (Epikentro), Israel (Poalim), Italy (Laterza), Japan (NewsPicks), Netherlands (Nieuw Amsterdam), Norway (Res Publica), Poland (Heterodox), Portugal (Temas e Debates), Serbia (Akadesmka knjiga), Slovenia (UMco), Spain (Taurus), Sweden (Verbal), the UK (Penguin Allen Lane), the USA (Harper Business).

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Synopsis

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, capitalism was stuck. It had no answers to a host of problems, including disease, inequality, the digital divide and, perhaps most blatantly, the environmental crisis.

Taking her inspiration from the ‘moonshot’ programmes which successfully coordinated public and private sectors on a massive scale, Mariana Mazzucato calls for the same level of boldness and experimentation to be applied to the biggest problems of our time.

Mission Economy looks at the grand challenges facing us in a radically new way, arguing that we must rethink the capacities and role of government within the economy and society, and above all recover a sense of public purpose.

To solve the massive crises facing us, we must be innovative — we must use collaborative, mission-oriented thinking while also bringing a stakeholder view of public private partnerships which means not only taking risks together but also sharing the rewards. We need to think bigger and mobilize our resources in a way that is as bold as inspirational as the moon landing—this time to the most ‘wicked’ social problems of our time.

We can only begin to find answers if we fundamentally restructure capitalism to make it inclusive, sustainable, and driven by innovation that tackles concrete problems. That means changing government tools and culture, creating new markers of corporate governance, and ensuring that corporations, society, and the government coalesce to share a common goal.

We did it to go to the moon. We can do it again to fix our problems and improve the lives of every one of us. We simply can no longer afford not to.

Mazzucato presents her arguments so simply and clearly that they can seem obvious. In fact, they are revolutionary.
Nature magazine
Mazzucato offers a call to bold, collective action. All those in favour of a better future – of prosperity that is broadly shared, first class public services to be enjoyed by all, and a solution to the climate crisis – should read this book.
The Guardian
Mazzucato argues Western market-led capitalism has failed...years of privatising state-owned companies and outsourcing essential services have left governments weakened without benefitting society or saving taxpayers' money.
Reuters

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