Politics- The Come-Back Trail

OUR prototype of the 'mixed' economy was characterised by a public sector whose raison d'etre was to create the necessary infrastructure for the growth of the private sector. Part of this pattern was the dual pricing system whereby certain commodities would be available at two separate prices, again in the interests of growth and justice. Thus part of the sugar production was at one time available at a controlled price, though there was also the free market sugar available for those who could afford more. Aluminium was another such commodity. A non-ferrous metal, it is an intermediate good essential for consumption items from household fixtures and utensils to airplanes, as well as for the electrical industry through the manufacture of cables, conductors, and wires, in which it has increasingly displaced other rarer metals such as copper. With 50 per cent of the aluminium industry's production earmarked for the electrical industry, electrical grade aluminium used to be priced lower and was controlled. This was considered necessary in the interests of growth.