The opening of minds towards more active government that steers the production structure

Deep society-wide crises tend to produce new economic thinking. 2020 familiarized many millions with trauma and loss. It also intensified the questioning – already started by the North Atlantic Financial Crisis (NAFC) of 2007-12 and by the dramatic rise of China on world technology and military frontiers – of the conservative ideology or world view which has dominated the economics profession and economic statecraft across the capitalist world for the past four decades – dominated as though simple common sense, quietly transforming western societies. This essay discusses the content of emerging thinking about the role of the state, and causes of the changes. But first, more on where we are coming from: from the deeply entrenched conservative ideology and its anti-government “intervention” in the economy.