SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Jeremy Corbyn at a campaign rally earlier this month.
(Photo: Reuters)
Far From Extreme, Corbyn's Anti-Austerity Stance Is 'Mainstream Economics'
"Despite the barrage of media coverage to the contrary, it is the current government's policy and its objectives which are extreme," economists write
Aug 24, 2015
Even as the mainstream media and members of his own party seek to portray Labour leader hopeful Jeremy Corbyn as uncredible on economic policy, a group of more than 40 leading economists wrote a paper this weekend. They seek to counter that narrative by publicly supporting key planks of his anti-austerity platform.
"His opposition to austerity is mainstream economics," the economists wrote in an open letter published Sunday. "Despite the barrage of media coverage to the contrary, the current government's policy and its objectives are extreme."
The letter clarifies that its signatories "are not all supporters of Jeremy Corbyn," who is currently the frontrunner in the leadership contest according to national polls.
"But we hope to clarify just where the 'extremism' lies in the current economic debate," they continued, blasting harsh spending cuts and privatization embraced by current Labour leaders.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Corbyn detailed his economic strategy in the Observer, criticizing "an absentee government" that has produced "yawning inequality" in the UK.
"Parliament can feel like living in a time warp at the best of times," he wrote, "but this government is not just replaying 2010, but taking us back to 1979: ideologically committed to rolling back the state, attacking workers' rights and trade union protection, selling off public assets and extending the sell-off to social housing."
Corbyn highlighted the importance of a national investment bank, a national education service that provides universal free childcare and ongoing skills training, and stronger trade unions.
"Our opposition cannot be limited to the parliamentary chambers and TV studios of Westminster," he wrote. "Labour is best when it is a movement, which has swelled to an enthusiastic 600,000 who will decide this leadership election. Once that is over, we face a bigger task: to force this government to abandon its free-market dogma and become the strategic state our society needs."
The Independent reported Monday that Corbyn said the Labour Party should set up a fund to help low-income people become members of Parliament. "If the party is to win back the five million predominantly working-class voters lost since 1997, then we must reflect those we seek to represent," the candidate reportedly argued. "It is not enough to be for working people--we have to be of working people as well."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Even as the mainstream media and members of his own party seek to portray Labour leader hopeful Jeremy Corbyn as uncredible on economic policy, a group of more than 40 leading economists wrote a paper this weekend. They seek to counter that narrative by publicly supporting key planks of his anti-austerity platform.
"His opposition to austerity is mainstream economics," the economists wrote in an open letter published Sunday. "Despite the barrage of media coverage to the contrary, the current government's policy and its objectives are extreme."
The letter clarifies that its signatories "are not all supporters of Jeremy Corbyn," who is currently the frontrunner in the leadership contest according to national polls.
"But we hope to clarify just where the 'extremism' lies in the current economic debate," they continued, blasting harsh spending cuts and privatization embraced by current Labour leaders.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Corbyn detailed his economic strategy in the Observer, criticizing "an absentee government" that has produced "yawning inequality" in the UK.
"Parliament can feel like living in a time warp at the best of times," he wrote, "but this government is not just replaying 2010, but taking us back to 1979: ideologically committed to rolling back the state, attacking workers' rights and trade union protection, selling off public assets and extending the sell-off to social housing."
Corbyn highlighted the importance of a national investment bank, a national education service that provides universal free childcare and ongoing skills training, and stronger trade unions.
"Our opposition cannot be limited to the parliamentary chambers and TV studios of Westminster," he wrote. "Labour is best when it is a movement, which has swelled to an enthusiastic 600,000 who will decide this leadership election. Once that is over, we face a bigger task: to force this government to abandon its free-market dogma and become the strategic state our society needs."
The Independent reported Monday that Corbyn said the Labour Party should set up a fund to help low-income people become members of Parliament. "If the party is to win back the five million predominantly working-class voters lost since 1997, then we must reflect those we seek to represent," the candidate reportedly argued. "It is not enough to be for working people--we have to be of working people as well."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Even as the mainstream media and members of his own party seek to portray Labour leader hopeful Jeremy Corbyn as uncredible on economic policy, a group of more than 40 leading economists wrote a paper this weekend. They seek to counter that narrative by publicly supporting key planks of his anti-austerity platform.
"His opposition to austerity is mainstream economics," the economists wrote in an open letter published Sunday. "Despite the barrage of media coverage to the contrary, the current government's policy and its objectives are extreme."
The letter clarifies that its signatories "are not all supporters of Jeremy Corbyn," who is currently the frontrunner in the leadership contest according to national polls.
"But we hope to clarify just where the 'extremism' lies in the current economic debate," they continued, blasting harsh spending cuts and privatization embraced by current Labour leaders.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Corbyn detailed his economic strategy in the Observer, criticizing "an absentee government" that has produced "yawning inequality" in the UK.
"Parliament can feel like living in a time warp at the best of times," he wrote, "but this government is not just replaying 2010, but taking us back to 1979: ideologically committed to rolling back the state, attacking workers' rights and trade union protection, selling off public assets and extending the sell-off to social housing."
Corbyn highlighted the importance of a national investment bank, a national education service that provides universal free childcare and ongoing skills training, and stronger trade unions.
"Our opposition cannot be limited to the parliamentary chambers and TV studios of Westminster," he wrote. "Labour is best when it is a movement, which has swelled to an enthusiastic 600,000 who will decide this leadership election. Once that is over, we face a bigger task: to force this government to abandon its free-market dogma and become the strategic state our society needs."
The Independent reported Monday that Corbyn said the Labour Party should set up a fund to help low-income people become members of Parliament. "If the party is to win back the five million predominantly working-class voters lost since 1997, then we must reflect those we seek to represent," the candidate reportedly argued. "It is not enough to be for working people--we have to be of working people as well."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.