What is the way forward for progressive change in the US? Historically progressive change has come not through electoral politics but when ordinary people, frustrated by politics as usual, rise up in anger and hope and defy the authorities and the status quo rules that usually govern their daily lives. By doing so, they disrupt the workings of important institutions and become a force in American politics. Unfortunately in 2016 that popular anger did not have a progressive outcome.
The 2020 elections are assessed by Jeff Faux, who is well known to Global Justice audiences. As an economist long involved in progressive politics, Jeff Faux is doubtful of the ability of the political elite to steer us away from the neoliberal morass the country is in. Our discussion will also include Laura Carlsen, a journalist based in Mexico City who is a keen observer of Mexican politics and the relations between the US and Mexico, both political and economic. What are the possibilities for this fraught relationship with a new Administration? The prospects for socialist alternatives will be a key question in the period ahead.