Reclaiming the State : A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World

Trump. Brexit. The alt-right. It’s increasingly apparent that old political notions—believed to be consigned to the dustbin of history—are now resurrected. The neonationalist, anti-globalization, and anti-establishment attitude engulfing the United States and United Kingdom hints suspiciously at a yearning for national sovereignty.__Reclaiming the State__offers an urgent and prescient political analysis and economic program for the Left who are strategizing for these uncertain times. Many of our assumptions—about ideology, democracy, trade, and globalization—are being thrown into doubt, deposed by populism, nationalism, and racism. In response to these challenging times, economist Bill Mitchell and political theorist Thomas Fazi propose a reconceptualization of the sovereign state as a vehicle for change. They offer a progressive view of sovereignty based not on the demonization of the other, but as a way to bring the economy back under democratic control. With nationalism gaining support across the United States with each passing week,__Reclaiaming the State__provides innovative ideas to mobilize and reenergize a tired, divided Left. Trump. Brexit. The alt-right. It's increasingly apparent that old political notions--believed to be consigned to the dustbin of history--are now resurrected. The neonationalist, anti-globalization, and anti-establishment attitude engulfing the United States and United Kingdom hints suspiciously at a yearning for national sovereignty. Reclaiming the State offers an urgent and prescient political analysis and economic program for the Left who are strategizing for these uncertain times. Many of our assumptions--about ideology, democracy, trade, and globalization--are being thrown into doubt, deposed by populism, nationalism, and racism. In response to these challenging times, economist Bill Mitchell and political theorist Thomas Fazi propose a reconceptualization of the sovereign state as a vehicle for change. They offer a progressive view of sovereignty based not on the demonization of the other, but as a way to bring the economy back under democratic control. With nationalism gaining support across the United States with each passing week, Reclaiaming the State provides innovative ideas to mobilize and reenergize a tired, divided Left.-- Provided by Publisher Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 7 Introduction: Make the Left Great Again 8 Part I: The Great Transformation Redux: From Keynesianism to Neoliberalism - and Beyond 22 1. Broken Paradise: A Critical Assessment of the Keynesian 'Full Employment' Era 24 2. Destined to Fail: Understanding the Crisis of Keynesianism and the Rise of Neoliberalism 43 3. That Option No Longer Exists: How Britain, and the British Labour Party, Fell Into the Monetarist Trap 67 4. The Paris Consensus: The French Left and the Creation of Neoliberal Europe 83 5. The State Never Went Away: Neoliberalism as a State-Driven Project 100 6. Apres Elle, Le Déluge: Are We Entering a Post-Neoliberal Age? 157 Part II: A Progressive Strategy for the Twenty-First Century 166 7. Towards a Progressive Vision of Sovereignty 168 8. A Government is Not Like a Household: An Introduction to Modern Monetary Theory 179 9. I Have a Job For You: Why a Job Guarantee is Better than a Basic Income 228 10. We Have a (Central) Plan: The Case of Renationalisation 255 Conclusion: Back to the State 270 Notes 276 Index 299 AcknowledgementsIntroduction: Make the Left Great AgainPart I: The Great Transformation Redux: From Keynesianism to Neoliberalism - and Beyond1. Broken Paradise: A Critical Assessment of the Keynesian 'Full Employment' Era 2. Destined to Fail: Understanding the Crisis of Keynesianism and the Rise of Neoliberalism 3. That Option No Longer Exists: How Britain, and the British Labour Party, Fell into the Monetarist Trap 4. The Paris Consensus: The French Left and the Creation of Neoliberal Europe5. The State Never Went Away: Neoliberalism as a State-driven Project 6. Apres Elle, le Deluge: Are We Entering a Post-Neoliberal Age? Part II: A Progressive Strategy for the Twenty-First Century7. Towards a Progressive Vision of Sovereignty8. A Government is Not Like a Household: An Introduction to Modern Monetary Theory 9. I Have a Job for You: Why a Job Guarantee is Better than a Basic Income 10. We Have a (Central) Plan: The Case of Renationalisation Conclusion: Back to the StateNotesIndex The crisis of the neoliberal order has resuscitated a political idea widely believed to be consigned to the dustbin of history. Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, and the neo-nationalist, anti-globalisation and anti-establishment backlash engulfing the West all involve a yearning for a relic of the past: national sovereignty.

In response to these challenging times, economist William Mitchell and political theorist Thomas Fazi reconceptualise the nation state as a vehicle for progressive change. They show how despite the ravages of neoliberalism, the state still contains resources for democratic control of a nation's economy and finances. The populist turn provides an opening to develop an ambitious but feasible left political strategy.

Reclaiming the State offers an urgent, provocative and prescient political analysis of our current predicament, and lays out a comprehensive strategy for revitalising progressive economics in the 21st century. A provocative economic analysis which reconceptualises the nation state as a vehicle for progressive change