Chris, you can add the decline in natural capital to the list, surely? Usually, you end these kinds of posts by citing the potential for worker-owned firms in a market economy. Are you less optimistic about this, now?

Try again, Richard. The John Lewis Partnership does not *maximise* profit - for example, what incentive does the firm have to lower the wages of its employees (through outsourcing, offshoring, etc.) to increase the surplus when that surplus goes to the partners? The point is that rewarding shareholders can act as a deadweight on productive and creative activities because their return is not capped - their liability is limited through incorporation, but not their share of the surplus.

Chris, could you give this petition by Co-operatives UK a plug - http://uk.coop/yourstoshare/petition. What I wonder is, would a greater preponderance of co-operative firms result in lower corporate surpluses and thus, a reduced public spending deficit?

"The word 'values' always leaves me with the impression that what purports to be a moral concept is in fact an aesthetic one, namely taste, or perhaps even an economic one, namely preference." Exactly. What's so depressing is that I find people are unable to escape this way of viewing both economics and politics...

Harvey is more substantive in analytical terms, but Hutton does at least offer policy proposals despite his credulity as regards the possibility of changing the variety of capitalism - it's not only that short-term thinking defines political cycles, it is also that it is easier to concede to concentrated wealth in order to do good in the short-term.

I thought that the Marxian analysis of profit included the social surplus as a whole, requiring an evaluation of data that differed from the official statisticians was of measuring rates of profit?

Politically, Tristram Hunt isn't what you'd call a Blairite. He's more a traditional social democrat - recently appearing on This Week to discuss the financial crisis and the need for more co-operative forms of enterprise to replace the greed culture. He's got a good grasp of the history of the labour movement and would probably aspire towards a cabinet post. Given he's from an academic rather than trade union background, it's not surprising he'd recieve backing of Mandelson, etc. All CLPs will be wanting more local candidates, I suspect, but as he's on the shortlist for Stoke Central it will be up to members to decide if he's the right person to be the Labour candidate there.

Like Kent Brockman, I prefer to call it "tax avoision".

oops! that should be "we need *to get rid of* the anti-union laws"

Increased state power is a necessity for increased power for 'the market' (in other words, capital relative to labour). I'd argue that not only do we need more cooperative and mutual enterprise to empower people, but we also need the anti-union laws which tilt the legal balance in favour of employers and against the democratic organisations of working people. Days gone by, Labour politicians might have had a background as a trade unionist and through involvement in Labour politics end up an MP. Now it looks like the reverse may be happening...

Will, I think the fact that taxation has largely been increased for those on middle and low incomes rather than across the board has played a big role in people's attitudes to taxation. And Bruce - "Blair gave way to Brown's grip on the treasury and we shifted from the politics of opportunity to the politics of envy once more." WTF? Stealth tax as a term has been used since 1999 when Labour shifted from the Tory spending plans it had committed to retain to its own, which involved increases in spending.

I wouldn't mind such a show. Cowell has said he wouldn't be in it, and so long as it had a pretty sober moderator rather than a panel of judges, it might actually be interesting - but, not as commercially successful as X-factor. seems more channel 4 / bbc2 territory.

Great post, as ever, William. I've just got round to beginning your book Reinventing the Firm. Very timely work.