Sam Zacher is a PhD candidate studying the politics of inequality and redistribution in the Democratic Party, a Democratic Socialists of America member, and coeditor of The Trouble magazine.
Midterm ballot initiative votes in Colorado and Massachusetts suggest that taxing the rich and increasing public spending is more popular with voters when it’s clear exactly how these measures will improve people’s lives.
The Sunrise Movement deserves enormous credit for putting the Green New Deal on the national political agenda. But the organization seems to have hit a wall as of late. It may be time for Sunrise to pursue a new direction in its tactics.
A Green New Deal can’t just move us towards ecological sustainability — it also has to democratize the entire economy by expanding worker ownership.