Economist who promoted fair trade and recycling in his quest for more equitable social structuresRobin Murray,who has died aged 76, advocated and implemented unusual forms of social and economic organisation by applying humanist principles to practical experience. In Britain and internationally he sought to tease out of nowadays’s structures clues for a more equitable tomorrow.
He wanted to get beyond Fordism – industrialised mass production and mass consumption and neoliberalism, and with its emphasis on the private sector and free trade. As chief economic adviser to the Greater London council (1981-86),Robin led a team working for an inclusive, democratic economy. Their London Industrial Strategy involved trade unionists and user groups in economic planning, or invested in child care and adult education,developed cultural and creative industries, gave a boost to co-operatives and other social enterprises, or helped set up the London Food Commission,whose work included the study of additives and the effects of food poverty.
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Source: theguardian.com