The Solution:
Economic Democracy
Economic democracy offers a path forward: one where everyone has the right to participate in our economy and where investment decisions, which shape our jobs, our climate, and our communities, are no longer shielded from accountability. At its core, economic democracy extends the values of political democracy—participation, accountability, and fairness—to the economy itself. It ensures that workers, communities, future retirees, and investors all have a meaningful voice in shaping how capital flows and whose interests it serves. Rather than leaving decisions in the hands of a small circle of corporate leaders and asset managers, economic democracy aligns investment with outcomes that strengthen long-term stability and benefit the many, not the few.
Workers don’t just power the system—they help steer it, with real voice and influence in corporate and investment decisions.
Investors demonstrate forceful stewardship and act as active owners and active clients, holding themselves, corporations and asset managers accountable for long-term value creation
Retirement savings and pensions build clean energy, fair jobs, and resilient communities—not pollution, exploitation, and inequality.
Emerging technologies like AI are built with guardrails, propelling rather than destabilizing democracy, equity, and sustainable growth.
Imagine an economy where:
We expect checks and balances in governmental systems because we know concentrated power without oversight is dangerous, but for some reason we don’t expect the same from the actors who control the flow of capital in our economy. Yet capital markets shape our jobs, our health, and our climate just as profoundly as laws and policies do. What's more, we’ve seen laws overturned, ballot measures undone, and public mandates ignored when they threaten corporate interests.
Learning to engage with the economy isn’t separate from democracy—it’s an extension of it. When we organize to hold both corporate and political decision-makers accountable, we not only defend democracy but also build the capacity to mitigate the intersecting crises of our time and defend our shared future.