At a time when great issues are crying out for resolution - financial and economic stagnation, an increasingly polarised society, global paralysis over climate change, and spiritual emptiness and loss of vision throughout the West - politics is dominated by spin and manipulation. Too many people feel confused, cynical and angry ... and poorly represented by a remote political elite in Westminster. Despite the crash, that elite are still clinging to the same old ideas that have been tried and found wanting; we’re still being told that we’re not allowed to think outside the box of Thatcher’s capitalism. This book opens up a whole new vista - one that is radical but also practical. It presents a different model for business, a restructured banking system, an alternative economic policy, a reconfigured power structure, an industrial policy geared to the revival of manufacturing, a sharply different approach to employment and welfare, as well as inequality in society, and a fundamental reassessment of the handling of climate change. The State We Need answers the cry of the alienated many. It delivers a full analysis of the problems facing the British state, and offers the comprehensive, resonating vision of Britain for which we’ve all been waiting.
Autorentext
Michael Meacher was educated at Berkhamsted School and at Oxford, where he gained a first-class degree in Greats. Following this, he took a Diploma in Social Administration at the LSE. He has been Labour MP for Oldham West since 1970, and from 1974 was a minister in the Departments of Industry, Health & Social Security, and Trade, and then shadow Minister for Employment, International Development, and Transport. He served as Minister for the Environment 1997 - 2003. He contested the deputy leadership of the party in 1983 and then the leadership in 2007. He writes an extensive daily blog on the key political issues of the day on his website, www.michaelmeacher.info. He is also currently pursuing a number of campaigns: against DWP/Atos work capability assessments of the disabled; for compensation of blacklisted building workers; and for reform of the banks. He has also spoken out for employment rights and restorative justice. His previous books include: Taken for a Ride, Socialism with a Human Face, Diffusing Power and Destination of the Species.