The Forge argues for Bargaining for the Common Good as the strategic basis for our coronavirus response: “There are moments in history when the world teeters on a razor’s edge–where we can simultaneously imagine a world remade based on equality, justice and collective liberation and yet risk descending into a dystopian world of disaster capitalism, hyper inequality, exploding racism and patriarchy and political repression. We believe we are in such a moment. While emergency funds trickle to communities, we know on the other side of this pandemic, we will face massive calls for austerity, attacks on the public sector, pension crises, cuts to important social programs, and calls for public and private sector unions to make contract concessions. The question for our movements and our communities is this: Is our goal to return to the ‘normal’ pre-pandemic world of inequality, racism, and corporate domination or to imagine, organize, and fight for the world we want to create and deserve? … We have the power to transform our world and Bargaining for the Common Good is an essential tool in that effort. The time has come for us to stand together to do everything in our power to fight for the common good.”
15 April 2020