Welcome to Green Social Thought’s collection of labor and economics articles. Take a deep dive into green economics and labor perspectives. As advocates for environmental responsibility and social justice, we bring you insights into a transformative economic approach that challenges the status quo, particularly degrowth and union and worker rights.
In a world grappling with the consequences of excessive consumption and environmental degradation, degrowth stands as a bold alternative. Our articles explore the the green vision of reshaping our economic landscape, with a particular focus on scaling down unnecessary and detrimental aspects, such as military expenditures and empowering workers through unionization.
Explore the economic implications of embracing degrowth policies, from redefining prosperity to creating resilient and inclusive communities. Exploration of economic alternatives that prioritize people and the planet.
How Neoliberalism Has Wielded ‘Corruption’ to Privatise Life in Africa
Grieve Chelwa
In the years following the fall of the Soviet Union, the word ‘corruption’ increasingly began to appear in the reports of multilateral agencies and non-governmental organisations. These reports argued that corruption is rooted in the regulatory function of states, which control large-scale development projects and whose officials oversee the delivery of licences and permits; if the regulatory function of states could be minimised, many of these reports argued, corruption would be less pervasive. This kind of anti-corruption discourse fit neatly within the neoliberal drive to shrink states’ regulatory apparatuses, deregulate and privatise economic activity, and promote the idea that the freedom of the market’s invisible hand would create a moral foundation for society. The epicentre of this argument has been the African continent, where the idea of ‘corruption’ – meaning corruption of the state – has effectively been used to diminish the state’s regulatory functions and reduce the number of state employees. In neoliberal literature, corruption omits concepts such as transfer mispricing, trade mis-invoicing, accounting irregularities, financial mismanagement, and tax avoidance – all of which are essential elements of multinational corporations’ accounting practices – all of which are essential elements of multinational corporations’ accounting practices.
Michael Moore Says He Will Not ‘Tamp Down’ or Condemn Anger Stirred by Luigi Mangione
Zoe G. Phillips
Michael Moore condemns the US health care system.
Technologies that work for people, not profiteers, in the climate emergency
Simon Pirani
It will not be enough to take the means of production, as they have been developed by capital, into social or public ownership. We must aim to change what those means of production produce, and the way they produce it. What does this mean, politically, here and now?
G20 knocks out G7 agendas
Pepe Escobar
This G20 in Rio was all about the power of the Global South. With poverty eradication and genuine economic progress trumping the old G7 agendas of war, profit, and arm-twisting. This G20 in Rio was all about the power of the Global South, with poverty eradication and genuine economic progress trumping the old G7 agendas of war, profit, and arm-twisting.
Directly Challenging the US Empire, Capitalism, and the Global Climate Crisis
Kim Scipes
I argue the need for the left–however defined–to directly challenge the US Empire, Capitalism, and the Global Climate Crisis, which are interlinked. It argues that Capitalism has failed working people and cannot be reformed and supporting the US Empire is only making things worse, while enhancing the global climate crisis.
The Globalized Industrial Farm System is Destroying the World
Helena Norberg-Hodge
Big business is co-opting what now is a worldwide local food movement by shifting the focus to “regenerative” agriculture. This narrower focus on just the mode of production obscures the vital importance of shorter distances. Shortening the distances between the farm and the consumer and creating more self-reliant economies is the biggest threat to global corporations.
Review Essay-Blue Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor’s Global Anticommunist Crusade by Jeff Schuhrke
Kim Scipes
This is a very detailed examination of AFL and AFL-CIO foreign policy program between the 1940s and 1990s, showing not only their efforts but the process by which they carried out this work. Focuses on anticommunism to rationalize its repressive work against workers around the world, with especially strong focus on the work of the American Institute of Free Labor Development (AIFLD) in Latin America.
The white saviour complex and global AI governance
Shamira Ahmed
To counter the white saviour industrial complex in global AI governance, a shift towards more inclusive and equitable practices is necessary, that places positionality and reflexivity at the centre of global AI governance and overall ELSP research on the digital economy. Inclusive representation is paramount, voices from the Global Majority and marginalised communities should be included in global AI governance discussions.
Ratepayers Have Had Enough of Rising Energy Bills
Keerti Gopal
Some advocates are calling for more community-owned electricity providers, or public power, instead of investor-owned utilities. Public power utilities would be owned by community members and controlled by local government, giving ratepayers a more direct say in decisions about electricity sourcing or rate changes.