Progressive Social Change
Economics -> American Capitalism and Social Justice Fall 11
Demos
Demos is a multi-issue national social movement organization that was founded in 2000 in the state of New York. The organization is working to strengthen the middle class to better the lives for future generations. Demos combines research, policy development, and advocacy in order to have influence over public opinion and ultimately create change.**
Target issues:
Economy and opportunity
Democracy and elections
Government and public sector
Trade and international
Sustainability and growth
Alperovitz: Aiming to renew national democracy by strengthening local level democracy Organizations first goal, which is to create "A more equitable economy with opportunity for all" is relative to Alperovitz's goal of democratizing wealth (principle that ownership of wealth must ultimately be shifted, institutionally, to benefit the majority)
Other goals:
"A robust democracy in which all Americans are empowered to participate" "A strong public sector that can provide for our common interests and shared needs"
Domhoff**: As Domhoff highlights, there is large lack of diversity amongst both the corporate community and political officials, for this reason, Demos is in support of more diverse leaders.
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Progressive Change Committee
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee was founded by Stephanie Taylor and Adam Green and includes over 850,000 members across the US. MSNBC dubbed it the “top progressive group in the country”. The PCC supports the 99% movement to challenge the concentration of power and money in the US. Domhoff explains that in America, less than 1 percent of the population is part of the upper class and they overlap greatly with the corporate community. Together both groups have networks to help them plan policies and develop uniform opinions or interests. Domhoff explains that a few corporations connected in a network hold the most economic power in the US. Although there are over 23 million farmers and small businesses, a few hundred corporations monopolize the economy. Many even have interlocking boards of directors. Farms and small businesses may have local power, but they lack the type of organization that corporations use to effect national policy. The PCCC strives to organize its members to promote the interests farms, small businesses and the rest of the 99%..
The PCC tries to affect change in government by endorsing progressive candidates and raising money for their campaigns. For example, the PCC drafted Elizabeth Warren for the Senate Movement, As Domhoff explains, power elites use their influence in the government to create policies that promote their interests. Corporations are often able to use their capital and lobbyists to promote special interests. They might affect regulatory rulings, find loopholes in laws or gain tax breaks. The PCC targets these injustices by campaigning for progressive issues, such as ending Bush tax cuts. They also try to protect funding for medicare, medicaide and social security. Though as Domhoff explains the advertising council deflects any criticism of corporations by focusing on individual responsibility, the PCC wants Wall Street to be held accountable.
The ideals of the PCC align with Alperovitz’s hope for a Pluralist Commonwealth. The whole concept of the 99% aims at redistributing wealth and limiting corporate control. By promoting social programs like medicare and medicade, the PCC, like Alpervoitz, promotes public wealth. Unlike Alpervoitz, the PCC’s list of issues do not include forms of public ownership or cooperatives. They do not include promoting worker owned organizations although the PCC would probably support efforts to give workers more autonomy. Because the PCC campaigns for “the people”, they would likely condone the increased democracy and equality in worker run organizations. Yates also promotes workers rights in his book Why Unions Matter. Though the PCC does not directly promote unions, workers are part of the 99% which the PCC supports. There are clear advantages for union members, including fair pay, due process, benefits, vacation time etc.
Overall, the PCC promotes social justice ideals. The 99% movement is an attempt to break up highly concentrated wealth, which often depends on inheritance or the exploitation of others. The current economic system in America is unjust because individuals often do not get the outcomes that they deserve. Additionally, the PCC promotes participatory management by endorsing candidates and issues that are often ignored by the power elite. They help give farmers, workers and small businesses political representation.
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The Real Utopias Project
The Real Utopias Project, begun in 1991, is a series of conferences that are geared toward enacting radical social change. Scholars from across the globe are invited to discuss social issues and of these, a few are chosen to compose essays that will be discussed at the conferences and then revised after having been altered and challenged through intellectual dialogue. These essays are included in the Real Utopias Project Series.
Mission: Actualize the future existence of a utopian society which fosters ideals that are grounded in reasonable potentials for redesigning social institutions. The Real Utopias Project reflects an ideology that promotes a change in the existing social order through pragmatic analysis of societal problems and then restructuring of society’s institutional design. Through serious and extensive discussion of social issues, the project hopes to prioritize and mobilize fundamental social change. Some of the issues covered in the project’s conferences include property rights and the market, secondary associations, the family, the welfare state.
Published Books of The Real Utopias Project
- Associations and Democracy, by Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers
- Equal Shares: making market socialism work, by John Roemer
- Recasting Egalitarianism: New Rules for Accountability and Equity in Markets, States and Communities, by Sam Bowles and Herbert Gintis
- Deepening Democracy: innovations in empowered participatory governance, by Archon Fung and Erik Olin Wright
- Redesigning Distribution: basic income and stakeholder grants as cornerstones of a more egalitarian capitalism, by Bruce Ackerman, Ann Alstott and Philippe van Parijs
- Gender Equality: Transforming Family Divisions of Labor, By Janet Gornick and Marcia Meyers
The mission of the Real Utopias Project reflects the ideals promoted by Alperovitz in that it encourages an alternative reconstruction of society. The scholars who attend the conference of the Real Utopias Project Series and who publish the discussed essays ascribe to Alperovitz’s idea that the problems facing many Americans in the economic, social and political sphere are beyond conventional solutions. The project’s publications call for free market solutions, greater racial and gender equality, redistribution of wealth and the strengthening of democracy.
Domhoff expressed in his work, Who Rules America?, that public opinion can only have an impact when people are forced out of their routine by social disruption. After having witnessed years of socially disruptive practices that have remained perpetual within American society, The Real Utopias Project came to life in order to promote radical social change and generate proposals to solve social problems.
The scholars involved in the Real Utopias Project are reflective of the visionary leaders that Yates calls on in his work, Why Unions Matter, to lead the radicalization of the labor force. Covered in one of the project’s publications is the division of labor and workers along gender lines. Yates advocates for reform in which union membership is inclusive and will defend the entire working class.
The goals of the Real Utopias Project are consistent with social justice ideals because they call for equity, fair wealth distribution, and the actualization of pure democracy through the reorganization of structures to provide equality of opportunity. .<ref name="lipsum">Ipsum, Lorem. "Lipsum text fill generator", Unknown, 1500s. Retrieved on 2010-04-20.</ref>
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AlterNet
AlterNet is an award-winning magazine and vast web base that provides original journalism that is critical of social issues and the economic, social and political climate. Its aim is to inform its readers and stimulate action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, health care issues, etc. AlterNet provides free online content to its readers in a way that engages them in a culture of debate and information.
The goals of AlterNet include:
- Providing strong content focused on grassroots success stories, investigative reports, and expert analysis
- Developing an extensive network of readers in order to reach a diverse audience
- Build a strong community and influence on the Web
- Provide readers with pathways to action
- Promote financial stability and sustainability
Similar to the goals advocated by Alperovitz, AlterNet encourages its readers to filter the information and news that they receive and actualize real world problems that are largely masked or responded to with traditional corporate capitalist solutions as a result of the onslaught of the commercial media.
Domhoff noted that the idea formation process and opinion-shaping networks make it possible for special interest groups, typically the elite, to dominate and control public opinion. While AlterNet does not reflect corporate interests, it does aim to moderate public opinion through targeting and supplying information and potential social justice solutions to its audience.
AlterNet covered many articles on labor and labor rights and within them, it became clear that the magazine ascribed to Yates’ idea that pluralist competition contributed to democracy and union militancy.
AlterNet embodies social justice ideals in that it is dedicated to shaping public opinion so that it may have an influence on governmental politics. It is interested in issues that when addressed, will help individuals and the government to realize a society that prioritizes social justice imperatives, such as ending the War on Drugs, an issue largely covered by the acclaimed magazine.
Vermont Progressive Party
The Vermont Progressive Party is an American political party founded in 1999 that works toward preserving democracy, guaranteeing inalienable rights, and ensuring the general welfare of citizens who reside in the state of Vermont. The issues put forth by the party's platform include:
- Healthcare
Support single-payer and lifetime healthcare free of private, corporate interests
- Education
Promote public education system, repeal No Child Left Behind Act, replace residential education property tax with progressive income tax, increase funding for special education
- Criminal Justice
Discontinue War on Drugs, provide educational and financial opportunities to offenders and youth at risk, shift from punishment to rehabilitation for non-violent offenders, enforce penalties against driving under the influence to ensure public safety
- Civil Rights
Marriage equity for same-sex couples, pro-choice initiatives, zero-tolerance practices toward all forms of racism and discrimination
- Economy
Make minimum wage equivalent to living wage, ensure perpetuation of unions, promote cooperative, worker-owned public enterprises
- Environment
Alternative energy sources, protect water, air and biodiversity through strict enforcement of regulations
- Housing
Ensure safe, affordable housing, eradicate homelessness, put an end to red taping
- Public Participation
Stimulate serious participation in public sector in order for social initiatives to progress in society dominated by corporate interests
As a political party that envisions social, political and economic change through dynamic and reformist initiatives, the Vermont Progressive Party shares the ideals and reforms prescribed by Alperovitz because it reflects pluralist commonwealth strategies such as strengthening local, civic and political participation as well as supporting a more efficient and effective use of human resources.
Domhoff noted that the nature of American political parties has made it difficult for citizens to influence policy, especially through the electoral process. The Vermont Progressive Party enacts public participation and prioritizes liberal initiatives that Domhoff observed were largely ignored by conservative politicians and members of Congress.
In advocating for the rights of all workers to unionize and for business owners to give living wages to all workers, the Vermont Progressive Party encompasses Yates' ideals that unions must move past simplistic frameworks in order to be effective to meeting workers' needs. Yates also calls for labor's need for independent politics, an aim taken up by the political party as it tries to make the economic and political sphere free of private, corporate interests.
Overall Social Justice Ideals
- Promote economic, social and environmental justice
- Advertise for sustainability
- Become major political party that protects minority and individual rights and opportunities
- Facilitate access to to needed information, services and resources
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References
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