Restating the State?

In his essay “The end of laissez-faire”, Keynes distinguished between the agenda and the non-agenda of government. This book asks how we interpret that distinction today.

• A ground-breaking collection concerned with rethinking the contemporary role of the state.
• Comprises essays written by leading scholars and politicians.
• Looks back at the expansion of the social democratic state in post-war Britain, and at the subsequent challenge to this from neo-liberal ideas and policies.
• Discusses new doctrines for managing the state, new conceptions of the state, and new ideas for organising the delivery of public services.
• Covers current concepts, such as the enabling state, and topical issues such as public private partnerships.
• Goes beyond traditional ‘state versus market’ arguments.
• Opens up new conceptual and practical territory.