The book argues for a new experiment in social licensing whereby the right to trade in foundational activities would be dependent on the discharge of social obligations in the form of sourcing, training and living wages.

1. The 30 year experiment: imaginary, history and cases2. Telecoms and broadband: under-investment and confusion marketing 3. Supermarkets and dairy: success at the cost of suppliers4. Retail banking: (mis-)selling for return on equity5. Changing the frame: there’s more than one show in townReferencesIndex

This book describes the failure of a 30 year old policy experiment with competition and markets and proposes a new experiment in social licensing of foundational activities. The repeated failure of that old experiment in subjecting the basics of everyday life to competition is conclusively demonstrated by detailed case studies of three sectors – broadband, food supply and retail banking – where private sector business models realise point value for corporations at the expense of underinvestment, damaged supply chains and gouged customers. The radical move is then to change the frame and envisage a new experiment. The three sectors are only part of a much larger foundational economy, producing mundane goods and services which form the basis of civilised life. In this sheltered zone, firms and sectors enjoy privileges which bring profit. The book argues for a new experiment in social licensing whereby the right to trade in foundational activities would be dependent on the discharge of social obligations in the form of sourcing, training and living wages.This argument for reframing economic policy choices comes from a team of researchers and policy advocates based at the Centre for Research on Socio Cultural Change who blog as Manchester Capitalism. Their book combines rigour and readability so that it is relevant to all those – practitioners, policy makers, academics and engaged citizens – who are looking for new possibilities of action which can start a process of learning about a better way of organising the fundamentals of economic life. It offers a way out of the current impasse.

"Their book combines rigour and readability to suggest a better way of organising the fundamentals of economic life as a way out of the current impasse. Such a radical strategy is essential to replace the current vacuum in ideas, resulting in a dispirited economic consensus and voter apathy. Reading this book should help remove the need for a question mark in its title."(New Classics Website, Aug 2014)