The Guardian view on reforming capitalism: from controversy to consensus | Editorial

The claim that Britain's economic model is systemically unjust was recently deemed radical and extreme. Now it is indisputable

Ed Miliband is not often cited among the big winners in British politics. His five-year term as Labour leader ended in a humiliating election defeat. But that does not necessarily invalidate arguments he tried to make about injustice built into the UK economy, the systematic depression of wages and a short-term profiteering culture that spread insecurity and inequality. Mr Miliband's analysis has subsequently been vindicated, to the extent that many Conservatives now talk about a crisis in capitalism. When Labour figures use that kind of language, the Tories denounce it as a slippery slope towards Bolshevism.

In a polarised political climate it is important to build on areas of consensus, so a substantial and non-partisan economic reform programme, published this week, should be welcome across the political spectrum. The Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank issued the final report of its commission for economic justice, bringing together business leaders, economists, trade unionists, representatives from the worlds of technology, finance, charities - and the archbishop of Canterbury. Justin Welby's presence on the panel is a reminder that economics can, or should be, an ethical pursuit as well as a technical one.

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