Why Economic Rights Are Critical To Climate Action (w/ Professor Mark Paul)

More than four years after it was first introduced, the Green New Deal has been extraordinarily influential in public policy around the globe. Though as a binding resolution it has not been enacted into law in the US, President Biden has referenced it as a crucial framework for his own climate plans. And many of the principles of the Green New Deal - centering climate justice, economic rights, and robust public investments - are certainly evident in many of the policies included in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

But the complete plans of the Green New Deal are from realized. And as Professor Mark Paul notes, that's a mistake. In order to adequately combat the climate crisis, a number of economic rights need to be established to deliver a more sustainable, just, and thriving economy - one that prioritizes human flourishing. 

It's these economic rights that Paul puts forth in his new book,  The Ends of Freedom: Reclaiming America’s Lost Promise of Economic Rights. This week, he joins the show to discuss the long history of fighting for economic freedom in America, how the neoliberal era has warped our sense of what's possible, and the Green New Deal and other movement efforts have revitalized the fight.

Dr. Mark Paul is an assistant professor of the Bloustein School at Rutgers University and is also a member of the Rutgers Climate Institute.

Read The Ends of Freedom: Reclaiming America’s Lost Promise of Economic Rights.

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