"For people working toward systems change, the connection between neoliberalism-fueled wealth gaps, a declining social safety net, and the erosion of democratic institutions is perhaps clear. That a slumlord, emblematic of this neoliberal era, who built his fortune in part by exploiting low-income tenants, is now president feels almost too on the nose. As federal institutions crumble, the urgency to build local economic democracy from the ground up has never been greater."
"Economic democracy serves as an oppositional framework to the extractive, hierarchical nature of capitalism. It shifts decision-making power from corporations and investors to workers and communities, ensuring that wealth and resources are stewarded collectively rather than concentrated in the hands of a few. My work over the last decade at The Guild has been about building economic democracy across the pillars of land and labor."
"Our vision for economic justice is not just about increasing wages or creating more affordable housing-it's about shifting notions of ownership itself to interrupt cycles of harm. Without community control over assets and infrastructure, marginalized groups will always be vulnerable to displacement, exploitation, and economic precarity. Our work aims to decommodify land and housing, while building community wealth, ensuring communities of color and working-class communities can shape their own economic futures."
Neoliberal policies have widened wealth gaps, weakened the social safety net, and eroded democratic institutions, increasing urgency for local alternatives. Economic democracy reallocates decision-making from corporations and investors to workers and communities, promoting collective stewardship of wealth and resources. Worker-owned cooperatives and community-owned models for land, housing, and real estate can democratize ownership and control over primary wealth-building tools. Treating housing as a speculative asset prioritizes extraction over wellbeing and exposes marginalized groups to displacement, exploitation, and precarity. Decommodifying land and housing while building community wealth enables communities of color and working-class people to shape their economic futures.
Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.
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