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The Middle Way

Harold Macmillan

One-nation conservatism / political economy

It is a key statement of one-nation conservatism and the postwar consensus, showing the right's reconciliation with the managed economy.

Synopsis

A Conservative politician's case for a planned middle path between laiss-faire capitalism and socialism, using state action to soften economic insecurity.

Core passage idea

Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted work

Capitalism's instability and waste can be tamed by planning and a managed economy without abandoning private enterprise or sliding into collectivism.

It articulates a pragmatic conservatism that accepts state intervention to preserve social stability and the existing order.

To avoid a bubble

Pair with Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, or The Two Nations.

Reading note

Read it in its 1930s context of depression and unemployment that made laissez-faire seem politically untenable.

Best paired with

Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, or The Two Nations

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