In 2008 the first Green New Deal was devised by Pettifor and a group of English economists and thinkers, but was ignored within the tumults of the financial crash. A decade later, the ideas were revived by the democratic socialists in the US, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the forefront. The Case for the Green New Deal demands a radical and urgent reversal of the current state of the global economy: including total de-carbonisation and a commitment to fairness and social justice.
Critics on all sides have been quick to observe that the GND is a pipe dream that could never be implemented, and would cost the earth. But, as Ann Pettifor shows, we need to rethink the function of money, and how it works within the global system. How can we bail out the banks but not the planet? We have to stop thinking about the imperative of economic growth - nothing grows forever. The program will be a long term project but it needs to start immediately.
