A New Paradigm for Justice and Democracy: Moving beyond the Twin Failures of Neoliberalism and Racial Liberalism
November 3, 2021
By Kyle Strickland, Felicia Wong
Our democracy is in crisis—from weaponized partisanship to an economy that has not produced shared equality for decades. Much of how we got here is due to the twin failures of neoliberalism and racial liberalism, which upheld a racial capitalism that subjugated people of color with racist rules while exacerbating existing inequalities. Together, these old paradigms have excluded and divided. They have limited our politics and institutions, and they have hindered the policies and narratives that could advance racial equity and justice. But a new worldview is possible.
The report contends that this new paradigm must be rooted in the values of today’s racial justice movement: repair and redress; material equity; and freedom and liberation. Moreover, it must center the role of race in our economic policy debates and in our broader politics.
To better understand how the authors came to their emergent worldview on racial justice, and how a new paradigm shift can occur, the report is divided into three parts:
- The first traces the twin failures of neoliberalism and racial liberalism, outlining how the flawed worldviews of the late 20th century helped lead us to this moment;
- The second examines three major themes driving today’s racial justice movement: freedom and liberation, repair and redress, and material equity; and
- The third envisions a new worldview that builds on these themes to shift narratives, policymaking, and power—an endeavor that faces many obstacles but offers hope for a path forward.
Roosevelt Author
Felicia Wong
President and CEOFelicia Wong is the president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, where she directs the organization’s mission, vision, and strategy in pursuit of a high-care, low-carbon economy that works for all. She was the US representative on the G7 Economic Resilience Panel in 2021, served on the Biden-Harris administration transition advisory board, and currently serves as vice chair of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity.