So, how to recover from the crash? The government and the opposition agree that we should rely on those who caused it. But life has proved that stock markets are not a reliable source of finance for industry and that they don’t help to develop efficient companies.
Capital markets are no good at picking firms likely to succeed in the long run. Mergers and takeovers do not improve productivity: efficient companies are taken over, stripped of their productive assets and their workers sacked.
Only huge government spending can provide enough investment to lift countries out of depression. We need investment, not cuts. We need more public spending, not less. We need higher wages for more workers, not unemployment and wage cuts.
None of this can happen while we allow capital to rule. Only workers’ rule, socialism, can bring full employment and end the slump.