In this edition of Progressive Political Economy, Angella MacEwen of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) pushes back against the neoliberal narrative of Canada’s “Productivity Crisis.”
Highlighting the need for public sector investment in the economic foundations of climate action, infrastructure, and social services, MacEwen offers an alternative view on what is needed to boost private sector productivity in Canada.
The Broadbent Institute and Perspectives Journal have launched Progressive Political Economy: a new video series that spotlights progressive economics and political ideas that push for a just and equal society.
Through interviews with Canada’s leading progressive economic thinkers, we lay out alternative approaches to orthodox economic thinking that have lent today’s inequalities and injustices. From broadly envisioned industrial strategy in the fight against climate change to episodic economic phenomena like sellers’ inflation felt by all during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Progressive Political Economy series brings forward debates and inquiry on today’s major issues while being grounded in working-class, social democratic values. Valuing people over profits, decommodification, and a political economy that works for the 99%, the ideas shared in this Progressive Political Economy series are a much needed counterweight to Canada’s business-backed economic discourse.
