That’s really interesting, SoS. I suppose the SWP might, as a revolutionary socialist party, be generally resistant to the idea of formulating economic policy. It is still rather disappointing that so much resources were dedicated to maintaining a bureaucracy (particularly given that this is a Trotskyist party we are talking about).
Even for those who resile at the idea of ‘fixing capitalism’ that seems to me to be an essential if any progress is to be made simply understanding the nature of contemporary capitalism.
Agree, WbS.
Of course, one does not need to want to ‘fix capitalism’ to find a use for an economic policy unit. I alwasy thought that there was a good opening for the left to corner the ‘suspicious voter’ section of the market. Anyone with sense knows not to trust the main parties and the policies they implement, but in many things all there is is a suspicion. Some more analysis could reveal the options available to governments and might shed light on the real reason for making the decisions they make; at present, they are allowed to continue with a ‘swindle of big words’ (Alan Shatter’s constant appeal to ‘legal and constitutional difficulties’ comes to mind at the moment).