|
The Rise of New
Progressivism
For five
decades, neoliberal dogma has dominated our politics and policymaking
and left millions of Americans behind; today, a new—and
inclusive—worldview is ascendant. In a report released this week,
Roosevelt President & CEO Felicia Wong reviews the work of over
150 progressive thinkers across a range of disciplines and
demonstrates the overlapping strands—and tensions—of new
progressivism. “ That new progressive worldview envisions a
global economy unencumbered by corporate dominance and reinvigorated
by newly empowered voices. New progressivism takes seriously
the power of government to do good in many ways—to set guardrails and
rules for the market; to provide goods and services directly; to set
economic goals and catalyze change,” Wong writes. “It is essential, in
the new worldview, that government be designed with public concerns in
mind, and that it work for the public good.” Read
on.
-
Why this matters: As Wong explains in an interview
with Vox’s Emily Stewart, progressives aren’t the only ones with
post-neoliberal policy ambitions. “One version of the post-neoliberal
future is anti-corporate, but it’s also white nationalist and racially
exclusionary,” Wong says. And tempting as it may seem to some, a
return to normalcy is neither possible nor desirable: “Basically, the
current system is vacuuming too many resources to the top, so even if
you’re going back to normal with respect to how we do politics, there
is no going backward, there is no normal that is going to solve our
problems.” Read
the exclusive from Vox.
 Happy Birthday, Roosevelt Network!
In Atlanta this past weekend, the Roosevelt
Network marked its 15th birthday in style,
celebrating its history with students, alumni, and staff—and preparing
for the pivotal election year ahead. Southern
Economic Advancement Project Executive Director
Stacey Abrams delivered keynote remarks. “I’m here to celebrate with
you today because you are emblematic of what is possible in our
nation,” Abrams said. “In the work that you do, the lives that you
live, the future that lies ahead of you, it is insufficient to simply
write rules. We have to write rules together.”
 Why We Need Public
Investment
“Many top
economists are coming around to the belief that it’s acceptable, even
preferable, for the United States government to spend more money, even
if it means increasing the nation’s $23 trillion debt,” economics
correspondent Heather Long writes
for the Washington Post. “I think average
Americans know what economists have been figuring out over the last
decade, which is actually [that] we need more public spending and
public investment in order to grow the economy,” Roosevelt Vice
President for Strategy and Policy Nell Abernathy said on
CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning. “And the
kinds of plans we’re talking about—investing in children, investing in
health care, adapting to climate change—these are the kinds of
long-term investments that set us up to be successful in the 21st
century.” Learn
more in Roosevelt’s spending
factsheet.
 The
Empirical Failures of
Neoliberalism
A second new
Roosevelt report, authored by Roosevelt Fellow Mike Konczal, Director
of Advocacy and Policy Katy Milani, and Executive Assistant Ariel
Evans, debunks common neoliberal assumptions and arguments and
outlines how neoliberalism has failed to deliver on promises of
economic equality, mobility, and growth for all. “The task now is to
flesh out policy alternatives and examine how these new, bold policies
would be best carried out—an endeavor that requires a new framework
for how we examine the economy,” they write. Read
more.
 Moving Beyond
Neoliberalism
This week
in Washington, DC, Roosevelt heralded the launch of the two
new reports with a "Moving Beyond Neoliberalism"
event and panel featuring Wong, Konczal, New York Times
opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie, and Wellesley College historian Quinn
Slobodian. Omidyar Network principal (and former Roosevelt Network
National Director) Joelle Gamble moderated the panel discussion. “I
believe that we have a once-in-a-generation chance to break the
ideological constraints that have empowered extractive private actors
and whose ideas have become the obstacles to building a better world,”
said Wong. “A progressive alternative to neoliberalism is gaining
traction.” Watch
the discussion here.
|
