The way we think about value is one of the things Mazzucato would like to change. Our understanding of value, she observes, is circular. “Incomes are justified by the production of something that is of value. But how do we measure value? By whether it earns income.” And so, “the concept of unearned income vanishes.” If we could think about value differently, we could modify our economic system so that something of value to our entire society, like the well-being of our children or the preservation of our environment, would also have economic value. Investment is essential, she argues. But we
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