Popular economist and former Green Party candidate Rick Wolff spoke to a capacity crowd on Wed, Sept 21 on "Why We Need A Powerful Left Party Now."
He made a strong case that the "American Dream" economy of endless growth and upward mobility was "over." He noted that we had 150 years of rising wages - until the 1970's. Real wages for most people have only dropped since then. Our seeming "prosperity" since was fueled by debt and women joining the work force, and we can't take that strategy any further.
He was optimistic about the Green Party's chance for success if we take the message out there that "the emperor has no clothes" and tell the truth about the economy.
When asked "what's next?", Wolff opined that we can learn both good and bad things from other economic systems. Communism was characterized by centralized economic planning by the government, and such a top down approach wouldn't necessarily be either appealing or effective for today's situation. He suggested we instead develop a "democracy in the workplace" approach, empowering workers to make decisions. "Would people have voted to send their own jobs overseas?" he asked. "Of course not!"
Wolff left the crowd with a feeling of optimism about the political opportunities ahead, in spite of the frightening truth that there is no "fixing" the economy as it is.
If you weren't able to attend, you can watch the videos:
