The book. During his press conference on December 11, 2019, intended to present his program to make the European Union “climate neutral” by 2050, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made an unexpected comparison. In order to underline the importance of her Green Deal for Europe, she recalled the sublime enthusiasm that President John F. Kennedy had aroused when he promised, in 1961, to send a man to the Moon before the end of the decade. The European Green Deal would be “Man on the Moon” from Europe.
Nothing in common, at first glance, between the Apollo program, its objective of surpassing the USSR in the conquest of space, and the necessary reduction of CO2 emissions.2. But in a report submitted to the European Commissioner for Innovation and Research in early 2018, Mariana Mazzucato had already defended the idea that the conquest of the Moon could serve as a model for the European Union in defining a certain number of “assignments” exhilarating and consensual allowing to reconnect with growth. To design Apollo-11, the American Federal State had to reorganize public and private research, resulting in the passage of countless ” spin off “, technical, scientific but also institutional and political. It had also demonstrated the ability of public authorities to take risks and create value.
That’s all about Economic mission. Taking note, after many others, of the failures of financial capitalism, Mariana Mazzucato denounces the persistent weight of neoliberal doctrines: the leaders most inclined to claim “pragmatism” are very often, according to the famous formula of Keynes, only the “slaves of some past economist”. An entire chapter is devoted to slaying these “myths that hinder progress” : no, companies are not alone in taking risks or creating value. No, the role of the state should not be limited to correcting market failures. No, the private sector is not more efficient or intelligent, nor less costly than the public sector. The many scandals which, in France or elsewhere, have highlighted the inefficiency and excessive cost of the private consulting firms to which the States had subcontracted, are for her a striking proof of this.
Distribute the wealth
Mazzucato’s contribution lies above all in his proposals for breaking the current impasse. Starting from a theory of value as “collective creation” – public services take their fair share alongside companies –, the author wants the State to no longer content itself with correcting the markets but to invent them. It will not be enough, for this, to appeal to voluntarism and free initiative. The State must be able to intervene in patent and contract law, distribute wealth in such a way as to better remunerate all the creators of value, but also use monetary leverage and activate public spending.
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