A democratic society, contends Detroit-based activist and educator Malik Yakini, requires embedding the economy in “the connection we have to each other and to the planet.” This interview, the third article in a four-part series on rebuilding the economy, situates the search for a more democratic economy in the history of the movements for Black liberation and food justice in Detroit.
In Great Britain, the Labour Party has created a Community Wealth Building Unit to build out an economic strategy, first developed in the midsized city of Preston, that uses local public procurement, cooperatives, and living wage policies to boost working-class Britons’ well-being.
The New Economy Summit in central Massachusetts had plenty of nuts-and-bolts sessions about such topics as cooperatives, community development finance, and renewable energy, but fundamentally the conference aimed to set a broad vision for future movement growth.
After decades of isolation, the doors of Cuba are flinging open, with nonprofits and social enterprises among those who hope to rediscover the island 90 miles away. Both Cubans and Americans might be well advised to take it slowly.
