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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

The state, your business

If laissez-faire politics is dead, how big a role should the state have? The economic crisis offers us a chance to rethink the role of government. Ten leading thinkers from Britain and Germany mull the question in a Comment is free special in association with the Global Policy Institute at London Metropolitan University and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation London Office

14 December 2008

  • The state, your business
    The spirit of optimism

    Andrew Gamble

    Andrew Gamble: We must fight the belief that political decisions are pre-ordained and that participation is futile

13 December 2008

  • The state, your business
    What others can't do

    Thomas Meyer

    Thomas Meyer: Only the state can guarantee fundamental rights – and it delegates the task at our peril

12 December 2008

  • The state, your business
    The pact between rich and poor

    Wolfgang Thierse

    Wolfgang Thierse: The state, your business: Only the state can lend dignity to those who need help, and make them more than mere objects of charity

11 December 2008

  • The state, your business
    Never mind the role of the state

    David Marquand

    David Marquand: The state, your business: As a big fall in the pound's value would show, we can only properly tackle this crisis at European level

  • The state, your business
    Tax and spend – properly

    Peter Bofinger

    Peter Bofinger: The state, your business: High taxes don't necessarily make a country less competitive. Harness them to pool the rewards of globalisation

  • Polly Toynbee

    The state, your business
    It's our time

    Polly Toynbee

    Polly Toynbee: The state, your business: The era of laissez-faire small government is over. Now we can start fixing the big problems the market can't solve

10 December 2008

  • The state, your business
    Dream on

    Donald Sassoon

    Donald Sassoon: The state, your business: A new world order? Fat chance. States won't cooperate, and anarchy will continue to prevail

  • The state, your business
    Now stand back

    Gesine Schwan

    Gesine Schwan: The state, your business: There's no doubt that huge state intervention was needed - but only in an emergency like this

  • The state, your business
    A bulwark against suffering

    Erhard Eppler

    Erhard Eppler: The state, your business: The state's very existence is an achievement that must be stoutly defended from privatisation and the pursuit of profit

9 December 2008

  • Anatol Lieven

    The state, your business
    A new age of austerity

    Anatol Lieven
  • Aerial view of Whitehall

    The state, your business
    Introducing a new Cif series

    Henning Meyer and Karl-Heinz Spiegel
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