Joe Stiglitz (previously) holds a Nobel Prize in Economics (not an actual Nobel Prize), and has been an outspoken critic of the rigged economy and austerity.
Now, in a new editorial for Common Dreams, Stiglitz calls neoliberalism "an ideology that has clearly failed" and goes on to try to rescue capitalism from neoliberalism, calling for support for "progressive capitalism...which prescribes a radically different economic agenda,"
Stiglitz's progressive capitalism calls for a stronger role for the state in subjecting markets to democratic oversight; an emphasis on science-led, evidence-based policies that favor benefits for the many over enriching the few; breaking up monopolies; and shielding politics from financial corruption.
It's a platform very similar to Elizabeth Warren's 2020 election playbook, and can be seen as an attempt to establish a new centrism that's far to the left of the likes of Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, sitting between their positions and the positions of Sanders, AOC, and other socialists who are skeptical of markets entirely.
A comprehensive agenda must focus on education, research, and the other true sources of wealth. It must protect the environment and fight climate change with the same vigilance as the Green New Dealers in the US and Extinction Rebellion in the United Kingdom. And it must provide public programs to ensure that no citizen is denied the basic requisites of a decent life. These include economic security, access to work and a living wage, health care and adequate housing, a secure retirement, and a quality education for one’s children.
This agenda is eminently affordable; in fact, we cannot afford not to enact it. The alternatives offered by nationalists and neoliberals would guarantee more stagnation, inequality, environmental degradation, and political acrimony, potentially leading to outcomes we do not even want to imagine.
Progressive capitalism is not an oxymoron. Rather, it is the most viable and vibrant alternative to an ideology that has clearly failed. As such, it represents the best chance we have of escaping our current economic and political malaise.
After Neoliberalism [Joseph Stiglitz/Common Dreams]
(Image: FDL Library, CC-BY)
