Economist Prof Mariana Mazzucato tells The Guardian that governments must 'get back their mojo' and 'make people dream'. In her new book, The Common Good Economy: A New Compass, she calls for a remaking of economic theory and government practice to tackle inequality and the climate and nature crises. Mazzucato says an economy should inspire people to dream, not merely survive, and that governments, businesses and citizens must create shared value so growth serves the common good not just private profit. She argues the common good went missing from political discourse in the early 1980s under Thatcherism, when people became consumers rather than citizens and 'customers' on transport rather than 'passengers'. Mazzucato highlights shared spaces and investing in collective structures as central to any idea of the common good. Reviewers and commentators have presented the book as a policy compass for governments and political parties such as Labour.
