The New Economic Zine: we need to change the rules
Posted on 31 Oct 2019 Categories: News
The New Economics Foundation has released the first issue of its new publication, the New Economic Zine. The debut issue seeks ‘to showcase new ideas and platform voices outside of orthodox economics’.
Authors Sofie Jenkinson and Margaret Welsh set out the thinking behind the zine in their editorial. They state ‘our economic model is failing us’, pointing to wage stagnation, precarious work and climate breakdown. For 40 years ‘the economy has been run according to a misplaced faith in free markets and competition’, and now ‘it’s time for a change’. They argue that ‘the way the economy works isn’t inevitable’ but that
‘We can build a new economy that doesn’t just follow the markets – one which is purpose-driven and creates human and environmental flourishing.’
The pieces are wide-ranging and varied. Miatta Fahnbulleh’s ‘Moving Beyond Brexit’ sets out an agenda for national renewal driven by a Green New Deal, while Ann Pettifor, one of the architects of the original Green New Deal, and Jamie Margolin, founder of the youth climate organisation Zero Hour, discuss ‘their motivations for fighting climate chaos and their visions for a zero carbon economy’. Guppi Bola’s piece, ‘Why we must decolonise economics’, argues that without understanding our economic system’s roots in British colonialism, ‘we cannot hope to change the rules of the economy for the future’. Frances Ryan explores the experience of disabled parents living under austerity, fearing that their children will be taken into care, in an extract from her book Crippled: Austerity and the Demonisation of Disabled People. Mathew Lawrence of Common Wealth reimagines ownership, and Maya Goodfellow argues that ‘blaming immigrants for the UK’s economic problems … makes it harder for those marginalised in the economy – immigrant or not – to come together in solidarity’.
Jenkinson and Welsh make clear that the zine isn’t ‘the usual thinktank academic journal but something for everyone that everyone feels they could write for’. They are currently looking for submissions for their next issue that explore mental health and the economy. They conclude:
‘As you read through the pieces in the issue it becomes clear that change is possible, change is hard work and change is coming. So it’s time for us to use education, organisation and action to build momentum, strengthen links across movements and challenge the status quo.’
Read the zine here.
Posted on 31 Oct 2019 Categories: News
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