Aperture Book of the Month - November 2024

For our penultimate book of 2024 we turn to the political economist Mariana Mazzucato whose concept of ‘mission based’ government has recently been taken up most directly by the current UK government.

‘Mission Economy’ urges reform of the relationship between government and the private sector. She has a clear political agenda, where government sets ambitious goals around significant societal challenges, and incentivises the private sector to innovate towards their resolution.

Our interest is in the underlying theme of a systems approach to market growth. In this regard, Mazzucato’s approach is laudable. Having designed and fielded an acclaimed systems-based strategy design framework, we were looking forward to reading her book as bringing much needed systems perspective to government. Unfortunately, we were disappointed.

In principle, setting out a future desired outcome, and then conducting activities to affect relationships in the market is a systems thinking approach. A ‘mission based’ approach by government is dangerous if it moves too quickly from ‘mission’ to action without actively managing the effect that is created along the way. The relationship she defines between mission and action needs far more exploration. Mazzucato offers little to address this.

Comparison to NASA’s Apollo programme briefs well, but that was a complicated problem set in a largely te

chnological arena, with relatively consistent boundaries. A predominantly social system, with all its complex adaption and the unpredictable emergence of new behaviours, is a very different scale of challenge. ‘Mission Economy’ presumes a benign and unitary operating environment; in contrast, the political arena is fiercely competitive and coercive.

Mazzucato’s prescription for a mission-focused government will be compelling to many in advocating a multi-disciplinary approach to the most intractable challenges faced by society. But the detail is dangerous. There is a particular problem if the term ‘mission’ replaces ‘policy’ to imply novelty; using different words doesn’t change the challenge that government has had for decades in constructing and pursuing sustainable and integrated policy.

There is also the problem of who sets the mission in the first place; that it is not just the relationship between the public and private sectors that requires re-definition but that with civil society and the electorate.

On the face of it Mazzucato’s premise is extremely attractive, especially to systems thinkers, but if adopted piecemeal, there is potential to hijack the concept to serve purely political intent. That would doing a grave disservice to a sorely needed systems approach.

‘Mission Economy’ is recommended as a perspective to consider, but the message is clear: beware political economists bearing gifts. Were it to be consulted, the systems thinking community offers much less perilous advice.