Andrew Jackson is senior policy adviser at the Broadbent Institute, and the author of The Fire and the Ashes: Rekindling Democratic Socialism, available from BTL Books.
The right-wing are claiming that environmental measures to deal with the climate crisis are a major cause of inflation. But we do not face an unpalatable choice between saving the planet and lower living standards. Progressives must come up with a serious alternative.
High inflation may prove to be temporary, but unless and until it subsides, governments need to act to protect those who are struggling.
Our goal should be decent wages for all workers. The way to get there is to push for higher productivity in low-wage sectors by raising wages while maintaining full employment.
Now that the election is behind us, the left should focus on developing and mobilizing for an even bolder policy agenda.
Ed wanted to supplant the Liberals as the dominant party of the centre left, and very much saw himself, not as a “Liberal in a hurry,” as the old adage goes, but rather as an intellectually grounded democratic socialist.
Mark Carney does not deny the need for government supervision and regulation to balance corporate capitalism with broader social goals. But his faith in socially responsible capitalism is excessive.
We can hardly tackle obscene and rising levels of economic inequality if we are not prepared to see a sustained rise in wages at the expense of the capital share of national income, and a sustained period of wages growing at least in line with growing productivity.
Analysis suggests that capital has become far too strong to sustain a robust economy and that an increase in labour bargaining power should be welcomed rather than resisted.
The war analogy and a close analysis of the World War Two experience provide grounds for optimism that big things can be accomplished given political will and popular support.
