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There is an entrenched relationship between the consulting industry and the way business and government are managed today which must change Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington show that our economies reliance on companies such as McKinsey Boston Consulting Group Bain amp Company PwC Deloitte KPMG and EY stunts innovation obfuscates corporate and political accountability and impedes our collective mission of halting climate breakdown

The Big Con describes the confidence trick the consulting industry performs in contracts with hollowedout and riskaverse governments and shareholder valuemaximizing firms It grew from the 1980s and 1990s in the wake of reforms by both the neoliberal right and Third Way progressives and it thrives on the ills of modern capitalism from financialization and privatization to the climate crisis It is possible because of the unique power that big consultancies wield through extensive contracts and networks as advisors legitimators and outsourcers and the illusion that they are objective sources of expertise and capacity To make matters worse our best and brightest graduates are often redirected away from public service into consulting In all these ways the Big Con weakens our businesses infantilizes our governments and warps our economies

Mazzucato and Collington expertly debunk the myth that consultancies always add value to the economy With a wealth of original research they argue brilliantly for investment and collective intelligence within all organizations and communities and for a new system in which public and private sectors work innovatively for the common good We must recalibrate the role of consultants and rebuild economies and governments that are fit for purpose

2023 Mariana Mazzucato P2023 Penguin Audio