The return of the state: restructuring Britain for the common good

Konzelmann, Suzanne J. and Allen, P. and Toporowski, J., eds. (2021) The return of the state: restructuring Britain for the common good. Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK: Agenda Publishing. ISBN 9781788213295. (In Press)

Abstract

Book synopsis: This book offers both a vision of a future Britain and a roadmap to getting there. It is now clear that the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK harder than other countries in Europe not least because of the government’s ill-timed and ill-conceived response, but also because of the chronic failure of the state to fund public services adequately and to reduce societal inequality in the neoliberal decades since 1979. Pushed by crisis, the government has borrowed massively to save jobs, businesses and the economy from collapse, making a mockery of the austerity policies that it had vocally championed for a decade – policies that undoubtedly created a divided country and precipitated a Brexit vote that has since consumed parliament and stymied social progress. The role of the state is now in sharp focus: the contributors to this book assesses what that role should be and how it should be harnessed for the good of the British people in all four of its nations. They call for nothing short of a new settlement and a complete redesign of the economy. The contributors argue passionately and persuasively for a state that is properly funded, one that looks after its citizens regardless of age, class or ethnicity and enables them to live well. To do this requires the establishment of a functional, fair and green economy managed with a social and public purpose. Bringing together some of the brightest and most-engaged scholars and thinkers in the UK, this book offers solutions and suggestions for how to re-establish the strong state, how to generate a new social settlement and how to manage a long-term and equitable economic recovery post-pandemic.

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