After the financial crisis hit in 2008 the priority everywhere was to restart growth at all costs. But as growth remains subdued, attention is turning to more fundamental questions. What kind of economy do we need? What do we want to grow and what don’t we want to grow?

Seen in the long view, crises can be barren or fertile. With barren ones, the most that can be hoped for is a return to what was there before. But when crises are fertile, once the first shock is over, people reject the option of return. This sometimes happens in wartime, when weary soldiers demand new rights when they return ...

 

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