Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The third annual Post-Capitalism Conference took place this past weekend — with one major shift from previous years: the conference is now titled “Decolonizing Economics,” and far from being a simple title change, the theme of decolonization was quite prominently weaved through the entirety of summit’s sessions.
Democratic Public Ownership combines solidarity economy principles around democratic governance, equity, subsidiarity, and sustainability with the benefits of collective ownership in its widest, most holistic sense.
Imagine how much more capital can be directed into radical Black-led worker-owned cooperatives, community land trusts, and other solidarity economy organizations if this work is sustained and continuously invested in over the years.
Properly understood and practiced, solidarity economy offers, and I would even say promises and guarantees, great satisfactions. Nothing less than a fuller life, with greater creativity, autonomy, and solidarity.
Establishing systems rooted in deep, inclusive democracy, we can govern ourselves in a way that uplifts all rights for all people, ensuring that no one is left behind. Then everyone can truly enjoy the foundational tenet of “liberty and justice for all.”
Dany Sigwalt, Executive Director at Power Shift Network, has spent much of her career moving between movement building and youth leadership development, working to marry the two into one cohesive strategic reality. She addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?”
Two decades after its declaration of neutrality, the community still carries on its peace crusade. Despite many difficulties, they are hanging on to their collective work thanks to the precious cacao cultivation.
That is why there is no room for love in capitalism. You cannot love a thing and at the same time be indifferent to its demise.
“Unlike identity, solidarity is not something you have, it is something you do – a set of actions taken toward a common goal…[It] is the practice of helping people realize that they – that is to say, we – are all in this together.”
Change needs to be systemic to match the scale of the emergency and the inequalities uncovered and reproduced by the pandemic. This crisis can and should be used as a collective learning point for a transformation towards an alternative feminist degrowth future.
Workers should be in charge. People who have their life on the line should make the decisions. Because those that have their livelihood on the line are more likely to make decisions that would benefit the company as well as themselves because the decisions that are made impact them and beyond.
In this article I use the term ‘progressive movement’ to mean all the people and organisations that are working, or would like to work, on creating a world in which people and planet come before profit. If the term does not sit comfortably with you please substitute ‘solidarity economy’ or whatever term you prefer that encapsulates the widest possible breadth of ‘pro-positive-change’ people and organisations.
