In the intensifying intellectual debate over the future of capitalism in recent years, one of the most influential — and disruptive — voices has been that of Mariana Mazzucato, an Italian-born academic at University College London who has taken a string of senior advisory roles to major global institutions and governments.
At the core of Mazzucato’s argument — as set out in an acclaimed series of tightly argued books — is a rebellion against the idea that the private sector should set the course of the global economy. Instead, she argues, the state needs to take a far more proactive approach, using its huge resources to tackle society’s most urgent problems head-on, and “crowding in” private investment in the process.
