THOMAS
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economic imperative.
This assertion runs counter to conservative dogmas which, however,
have been disproven. Public and private wealth is not mutually exclusive.
Everywhere the economic expansion has been accompanied by an even
more rapid expansion of the public sector. In Europe between 1955 and
1975
its share of the GNP has risen particularly fast whenever the Euro–
pean economies were booming, and - as demonstrated by World Bank
statistics - the share of the public sector is particularly high in the
wealthiest countries. But one could argue that the times of dynamic ex–
pansion of the public sector are over, that existing demand has been met,
and that in the coming years the private sector will or should expand
more rapidly. However, as incomes grow, demand will most probably
continue to shift to goods that have generally and historically - at least
in Europe - been provided by the public sector: health, welfare services,
old-age pensions, education, clean and pleasant environment, and so on.
Economic growth would slacken if this potential demand were not met.
Also, there is yet a more direct link between the public sector and
economic growth . The goods and services produced by the public sector
are not merely consumer products: they are essential to the productive
process, the more so the more modern the economy. Information, for
instance, is very often said to have become the more important "raw
material." Some claim that we have entered the new "information age."
In any event, information doubtlessly has become central to all
productive processes, and governments have been deeply involved in the
production, reproduction, and distribution of information: kindergartens
and universities, libraries and research institutions are mostly funded not
by the private but by the public sector.
The recent fashion for the "Japanese" type of management has high–
lighted another essential factor of production: cooperative and positive
attitudes in the work force . Part of this attitude might be culturally con–
ditioned, but in the long run will be directed by politics. In Europe, it is
up to the government to bring about a more egalitarian society, a
coherent public culture overarching the various economic and social
groups; a dignified existence for all the employed and the unemployed.
In
absence of such policies nations will be divided by violent schisms with
high tensions and mutual antagonisms. In such a state they cannot
provide what is required if growth is to continue: the coherence and
mutual solidarity the "modern" economy needs in a " participatory"
production process.
The further expansion of the public sector thus would seem necessary
but has run into public resistance. This resistance does not imply a repu–
diation of goals of the public sector, but reflects the impatience, disillu–
sion, and skepticism concerning its actual workings. Voters, though
