Treasurer Jim Chalmers is forced to defend left-wing ‘inspiration’ for his 6,000 word essay

Jim Chalmers has been forced to argue that he was inspired by a left-wing economist who wants governments around the world to remake capitalism.

The Treasurer quoted Italian-born economics professor Mariana Mazzucato in her 6,000-word essay in The Monthly magazine, titled Capitalism After The Crises.

“As the influential economist Mariana Mazzucato has explored in her work, markets built in partnership through the efforts of business, labor, and government remain the best mechanism we have to direct resources efficiently and effectively,” wrote Dr. Chalmers.

The federal treasurer defended taking inspiration from a former adviser to the former far-left UK Labor Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, during an interview with 7.30 presenter Sarah Ferguson on Tuesday night.

“I read his work in the same way that I take inspiration and advice from a wide range of sources,” he said.

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“There are a lot of people writing about these kinds of topics right now.”

When asked why he liked Dr. Mazzucato’s views, Dr. Chalmers said he was drawn to the idea of ​​government intervention in the economy.

The Treasurer quoted Italian economics professor Mariana Mazzucato (pictured) in her 6,000-word essay in The Monthly magazine, titled Capitalism After The Crises

“I think there’s something to this co-investment idea,” he said.

“I think there is an opportunity for us to find out if we want cheaper, cleaner energy, and we want to use technology more effectively, we want a more modern industrial base, is to find out what positive role the public sector can play in that, and what positive role the private sector can play in that.’

Government intervention would be a repudiation of former Labor Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, who privatized the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas, a suggestion that Dr Chalmers denied.

‘I mean, of course, that’s complete rubbish. It is absolute rubbish,” she said.

Chalmers claimed that his ideas were in line with free-market reforms undertaken by previous Labor governments during the 1980s and 1990s, including by Keating when he was the treasurer who deregulated the banks.

“I’m here for the example set by the Hawke/Keating period,” he said.

“It’s one of the main reasons I got involved in politics in the first place, and I see what I’m trying to do in harmony with the motivating spirit of the Hawke/Keating period, not in conflict with it.”

Dr. Mazzucato, a professor of economics at University College London, has written several books calling for more government intervention in the economy, including Mission Economy: An Incredible Guide to Changing Capitalism and The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths.