In a nutshell, what is your moonshot guide to changing capitalism? Mazzucato’s proposals require a fundamentally different approach to the way governments operate and could be completely transformative, with even Pope Francis conceding that they “provoked a lot of reflection” within him. Taking inspiration from Apollo 11 and other ‘moonshot’ programmes, the book calls for the same level of boldness and experimentation to be applied to issues such as climate change, coordinating public and private sectors on a massive scale. Her latest book, Mission Economy: A moonshot guide to changing capitalism, is also the source of much debate, arguing that we must rethink the role of governments within the economy and society if we are to tackle the greatest challenges of our time. I think a commentator had it right: “The moonshot approach, a concentrated effort to accomplish one large, specific, scientific/engineering project, with no real concern for cost, cannot be applied to an entire national economy.Mariana Mazzucato tells Chris Seekings why governments must take inspiration and courage from ‘moonshot’ projects when tackling the world’s greatest challengesĪward-winning economist Mariana Mazzucato is not one to shy away from controversy, with her numerous books and essays frequently challenging the global economic system on which powerful corporations depend.
The needs of people are many not all of them can be met in the same way, let alone at the behest of some legislator who knows which ones should be privileged at the expense of others. Plus, an economy is not about one single need, picked by foresighted decision makers, in periods other than war time.
It is easy to talk of “missions” and “directionality” but it is often quite controversial which mission should be undertaken – and with what kind of resources. That policy decisions other than pouring money at it can affect the production process is uncontemplated. People talk about the making and producing of such vaccines as something which should be “expected”, somehow from Big Pharma, like Santa delivers presents on Christmas. There is a little bit of that in the contemporary discussion over Covid-19 vaccines (at least in Europe). The processes by which things are produced and marketed are seen as the reflection of easily identifiable and relatively simple decisions by those on top. What always astonishes me about her (and similarly, other industrial policy advocate types’) views is how highly complex processes are sketched into very simple drawings. There is not much new in Mazzucato’s new book compared to her previous ones.
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