The State To Come - Softcover

The forthcoming General Election will be one of the most decisive in British post-war history. If the Conservatives were to win again, it would confirm that British democracy is a sham - that we live in a one party state and the electorate will exact no penalty for broken promises and the abuse of power. Will Hutton argues that the tories can no longer be trusted: the recent economic `growth' is little more than a catch-up from the lost recession years, while investment is still weak and inflation high; Black Wednesday revealed the Goverments economic incompetence; and taxes have risen by a record in post-war Britain. Tony Blair has skilfully exploited the Tory divisions and successfully remodelled his party: New Labour is reformist, committed to social justice, solidarity and achievable levels of equality. The years of Tory Goverment have revealed the shortcomings of a free-market economy: a big shift of economic power to the employers and a sharp rise in in equality. Will Hutton urges Labour not to embrace a Conservative agenda in economic terms but to deal with the challenge of structuring the free-market economy to get the best balance of growth and a good society, and to make fundemental choices over the character of the capitalism we want to develop.

Written in the run-up to the 1997 General Election, one of the most decisive in British post-war history, The State to Come examines the vital choices that needed to be made about the society we share.

In this penetrating study Will Hutton analyses the principle shortcomings of the free market: a major shift of power to the employers, a sharp rise in inequality and a disproportionate share of risk being borne by those least able to bear it. Drawing on his concept of stakeholder society he shows how a future government could create both a stronger economy and a fairer society. He clearly outlines specific policies which would minimise the social risks of a free-market economy while at the same time maximising the efficiency in a European context.

Will Hutton concludes that the Conservative politics of the previous eighteen years had failed: Britain needed a government that was informed by a new vision of how to combine a successful market economy with a fair society. This could only be realised by creating a more dynamic democratic culture. He sees that with its commitment to constitutional change only a future Labour government would be able to set a new agenda for a new Britain.

The State To Come is essential reading on the choices the British people faced on that election day in 1997, and a powerful argument for a society based both on economic efficiency and social equality.