But those who criticise the far-left need to do more than just decry the policies they propose
Support for Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership election is yet another manifestation, among many in Europe, of the widely perceived failure of austerity to improve living standards for most people.
Who can deny that austerity impoverishes the public sector? That it heaps hardship on those least able to bear it? That it stunts current growth in living standards while failing to produce a sound foundation for future economic growth? And that it tends to favour the rich – and especially lenders rather than borrowers – at the expense of everyone else?
There is little doubt that it is the frustration generated by both the inequity and ineffectiveness of austerity policies that is driving the desire for left-wing policies to be brought back onto the agenda again.
The question is, can they provide any kind of realistic solution?
Clearly, there is a very high electoral hurdle to be overcome. The Labour Party is unlikely ever to get elected on a manifesto containing radically left-wing policies. And even if these policies were put into practice, the evidence accumulated over past decades strongly suggests that they would not achieve the results their supporters hope they would.
So how have we got ourselves into this predicament and what can we do about it?
The root problem is the ineffectiveness of the economic policies across the western world during the past few decades. These have allowed too many economies in the West to become increasingly unbalanced. Their levels of investment in the future have fallen to dangerously low levels, with much of the expenditure they do undertake being spent on projects which do not increase productivity.
They have de-industrialised, thus both foregoing the increases in output per head which manufacturing is so good at producing, and ensuring that they cannot pay their way in the world. They have consequently suffered from balance of payments problems which have sucked demand out of their economies, with the shortfall being financed by running up huge debts.
What expansion in output there has been has largely been led by consumption, based on ultra-low interest rates and assets inflation, neither of which are sustainable.
It is the consequences of these imbalances which have generated the rationale for austerity policies. The key issue is whether the policies advocated by Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters – at least from what we have heard so far – are likely to do anything significant to create better conditions.
First we must recognise that the only way to overcome austerity is to get the economy growing more quickly. Redistribution of existing output, beyond what is being done already, is extremely difficult to achieve on any major scale.
The issue then is whether the policies the left supports have any real chance of making the economy expand more rapidly.
Unfortunately, they almost certainly won’t – at least as articulated at the moment – for all the following reasons.
To increase investment both in industry and in the infrastructure – which has to be the way ahead at least as a percentage of the national income – consumption has to be reduced. This might be possible if the initial impetus to the economy came from manufacturing and exporting, where sufficiently big gains in output are possible over quite a short period, making it feasible both to increase living standards and investment levels at the same time.
But this could only happen if manufacturing became much more profitable. This might well be possible but it would involve a major devaluation to make productive industry more profitable, which is not currently part of the left strategy.
Without a more internationally competitive economy – as Greece and indeed many other Eurozone economies locked into high unemployment and low growth have discovered – the other policies which the left proposes are unfortunately almost certain not to work.
Increasing expenditure on infrastructure, while pushing up government debt which really has to be brought under control, will by itself do very little to increase economic growth. The return on most social investment unfortunately barely covers the interest costs involved in financing it.
Setting up an investment bank will not help manufacturing much, if at all, if the fundamental problem is lack of profitable investment opportunities. Renationalising the railways and energy companies may stamp out some abuses and stop subsidies being syphoned off as profits, but history suggests that relying on the government rather than the private sector for investment funds will not get these industries to make a stronger contribution to our economic performance.
Those who criticise solutions offered by the far-left need to do more than just decry the policies they propose. They also need to think long and hard about where we are going when many people – including plenty who are not Jeremy Corbyn supporters – justifiably fear that the future is one of stagnant living standards and endless cuts.
You may not believe in the remedial strategy which the far-left puts forward, but it is hard to deny that its supporters have a very serious point which badly needs an answer when they say – especially thinking of those who are already disadvantaged – that there are too few signs that austerity policies really provide any long-term solutions to the problems they are supposed to solve.
John Mills is an economist and chairman of consumer goods brand JML. He served as a Labour councillor almost continuously between 1971 and 2006.
37 Responses to “John Mills: Austerity isn’t working, but that doesn’t mean Corbyn is the answer”
Dave Stewart
Jeremy Corbyn is not a far left candidate!
Asteri
Corbyn isn’t even that radical let alone far-left, it shows how far the “too cool for the Tories” New Labour right have hijacked the party that Corbyn is viewed as so dangerous. His policies on re-nationalisation of the railways for example are state policy in those Far-left bastions of the Netherlands and Switzerland as is support for the public health service. And what more he is concerned about homelessness and inequality in London? too much for the Kendal crowd whose only concern is sucking up to the city and big business.
Cole
I’m not sure where you would put being a ‘friend’ of Hamas and Hizbollah on the political spectrum. It’s certainly not what most of us would want in a Labour leader.
The Socialist Party
“First we must recognise that the only way to overcome austerity is to get the economy growing more quickly.” No it isn’t! The answer to capitalism having become outdated and unable to provide what the majority need is not flogging a dead horse. Capitalism needs to be put out of our misery, buried and replaced with something far better.
Corbyn just wants leftwing management of capitalism, which is guaranteed to fail, so if he won in 2020, the Tories would be back in 2025 and another 5 years would have been lost.
Just as more efficient and productive capitalism replaced an outdated feudal economic system, so more efficient and productive genuine socialism must now replace outdated capitalism. We need classless moneyless leaderless real socialism a.s.a.p, not more futile attempts to keep anti-working class capitalism going.
stevep
Yet another scaremongering article about Jeremy Corbyn, He`s clearly got everyone on the right worried.
“The only way to overcome austerity is to get the economy growing more quickly”.
To who`s benefit?
I think we all know the answer to that one. It isn`t you or me.
I believe politicians when their utterances transfer into deeds and actions, experience shows that whatever they say about the economy, it primarily benefits the wealthy.
If the economy had performed as wonderfully over the last 30-odd years as we have been led to believe, then why are we worse off financially. People work harder for less pay, pensions have been cut, working hours are fragmented, jobs are insecure, food banks and payday loan sharks await many of us who fall under through no fault of our own.
Meanwhile the wealthy grow wealthier.
Britain has moved too far to the right.
If Politicians like Jeremy Corbyn present a radical, credible alternative then they deserve our attention.
Maybe we can get the economic system to work a little better for all of us, not just the few.