Beyond Despair

The economic policies championed by both major American political parties over the last forty years have produced widening inequality, stagnant growth, community decline, and individual despair and alienation. At the same time, the political upheavals of recent months have highlighted the urgent need for fundamental economic reform, and the creation of public institutions that restore individual dignity and prioritize justice, inclusion, and participation for all.

This seminar will explore the historical origins of these trends, and discuss the challenges and opportunities they present to achieving fundamental economic reform.

Questions to be addressed include:

• What are the principles and features of the contemporary ‘social contract’ between individuals and society, as it pertains to the economy?
• How does a market-centric worldview influence the development of civil society and public institutions?
• What are the fundamental causes of recent economic stagnation, and how can they be reversed?
• How can macroeconomic policymakers best address the needs and concerns of society’s most vulnerable and oppressed?
• What are the relative merits and disadvantages of job guarantee and basic income policies?

This seminar will critically evaluate the legacy of thirty years of market-driven economic policymaking, and explore a new macroeconomic paradigm, grounded in justice, inclusion, and participation for all.