global progress: global challenges, progressive solutions

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  • 8/20/2019 Global Progress: Global Challenges, Progressive Solutions

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    FUTURE OF GLOBAL PROGRESS: Andrew Little  63

    Global Challenges,Progressive Solutions Andrew Little, Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party 

    ❛❛It’s the globalprogressivemovement

    that playsearly host totomorrow’sdominantideas.

    ❜❜

    A few years ago, a Labour governmen in New Zealand inroduced a series opaymens o amilies on modes incomes. Te paymens increased wih he number o

    children in he amily. Te policy was based on he radical ideas ha kids need ood and

    clohing o learn and hrive; i’s no a child’s aul i she is born ino a amily o modes

    means; and he enire communiy benefis when is young are doing well.

    Te disgus among our opponens was visceral. Tey railed agains he paymens. One oheir members o parliamen, now New Zealand’s prime miniser, derided he policy as

    “communism by sealh.”1 

    Now New Zealand has a conservaive governmen in is hird erm, bu he paymens

    haven’ been ouched. Families are sill receiving he money, more o i i hey have more

    dependen children. Ye again a major social iniiaive, inroduced by a progressive gov-

    ernmen agains a irade o conservaive abuse, has become par o he poliical urniure.

    Unouchable. Sacrosanc.

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    64 GLOBAL PROGRESS

    For progressives, ha’s wha vicory looks like. Even

     when we’re ou o office, our ideas remain dominan, our

    policies in orce. Our influence on he uure ar oulassour miniserial warrans.

     As progressives and social democras, we are he

    guardians o he uure. From Briain’s Naional Healh

    Service and America’s Voing Righs Ac o almos every policy advance on olerance,

    inclusion, social services, educaion, and environmenal responsibiliy, i’s he global

    progressive movemen ha plays early hos o omorrow’s dominan ideas. For he bespar o a cenury, we have been where he world’s visionary poliical hinking happens.

    In his early par o he 21s cenury, he world needs progressive social democracy more

    han ever, as governmens around he world mee hree core challenges: auomaion a

     work, inequaliy, and climae change.

    Tis curren age is one o huge poenial opporuniyand a serious challenge based around rapid changes in echnology. Roboics and algorihms are revoluion-

    izing he workplace a an ever increasing pace. Te change goes ar beyond assembly

    lines and acories. Five years ago, he world had axi dispachers. Now, we have Uber.

     Accounans are being replaced by Xero. Law clerks are giv ing way o opical characer

    recogniion and searches.

    Tis is, o course, he laes sep in an ongoing process. Te manual elephone exchanges ohe 1960s have largely gone, as have he yping pools o he 1970s and he record sores o

    he 1980s and 1990s. Bu in he 21s cenury, he pace o change is becoming more rapid.

    Te opporuniy in his upheaval is clear. Wih he coming o wha Erik Brynjolsson and

     Andrew McAee call he Second Machine Age, humans are being increasingly reed rom

    mundane, process-driven work. By reeing people rom ha burden, we can unleash heir

    creaiviy in more rewarding, ineresing work, as long as hey’re in a posiion o ake

    advanage o i.

    ❛❛The challenge for progressivesis to help the people whose

    former careers are ended bytechnological change.

    ❜❜

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    FUTURE OF GLOBAL PROGRESS: Andrew Little  65

    Terein lies he challenge. Unetered echnological change creaes losers as well as win-

    ners, and we mus ensure human progress ulimaely benefis every human.

    In New Zealand’s larges ciy o Auckland, he por is planning o inroduce auomaed,

    driverless sraddle carriers o ake conainers rom ship o ruck and rom ruck o ship.

    Millions o New Zealanders will wini only a litleas a resul hrough decreased

    ransporaion coss or heir wares. More compeiive expors will leave our shores;

    cheaper consumer goods will flow he oher way.

    Bu he ormer sraddle drivers will lose a lo. Tey’ll lose heir jobs and heir livelihoods.Te challenge or progressives is o help he people whose ormer careers are ended by

    echnological change. Tey aren’ o blame or changing echnology and shouldn’ have o

    suffer as all around hem benefi.

     We need o encourage sunrise indusries, help hose indusries ake on displaced workers,

    and help workers rerain. Ta requires an inegraed se o policies incenivizing inno-

     vaion and making reraining accessible o people midcareer. I’s indusry policy, labormarke policy, and educaion policy, all coordinaed o ensure ha echnological advance

    leads o pareo-improving human advance.

    Tis, he uure o work, is one o he bigges policy issues our movemen mus address,

    no leas because i links o anoher o he criical challenges acing advanced naions

    inequaliy. Roboizaion and more-efficien ask processing will almos cerainly increase

    he sock o human welare, as people will have more ime or rewarding careers and more

    ime wih heir loved ones. Te big unknown is how hose gains will be disribued across

    he communiy.

    Since he 1970s, produciviy has coninued o improve dramaically while real wages or

     workers have no. Almos all he gains rom produciviy have gone o he owners o capi-

    al, no he owners o labor. Wih ha background, i’s no surprise ha wihin-counry

    inequaliy rose in more han hree-quarers o advanced naions over ha same period.2

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    66 GLOBAL PROGRESS

    ❛❛The worldneedsprogressiveleadershipmore than

    ever if we’reto trulyaddressclimatechange.

    ❜❜

    I ha rend o deeply skewed financial gains coninues as we ener he Second Machine

     Age, he resul will be a urher spike in inequaliy. Te rich will ge much, much richer,

     while he res say sill. Inequaliy, as we know, leads in urn o wased human poenialand decreased social cohesion.

    Increased inequaliy is a bligh on our socieies, and i will ineviably all o progressives

    o lead he charge agains i, as he conservaive record on fighing inequaliy is as piiul

    as i is halfeared. Someimes ha figh akes he orm o redisribuion, bu a oher

    imes, we can reduce inequaliy by addressing is causes. I displaced workers are given

    opporuniies o rerain or new careers in growh indusries, hey’re less likely o needhe welare saey ne and less likely o conribue o he inequaliy problem. Ta way,

    adaping o he uure o work also insures agains inequaliy.

    Te hird hisoric challenge we ace is climae change. Ta’s an area where social demo-

    cras have had o learn over ime rom our riends in he environmenal movemen. I’s

    also anoher area where conservaives lag behind. Climae change is an exisenial chal-

    lenge or us all, one ha will orce every counry o make difficul, cosly decisions.

     Wih las year’s agreemen in Paris, we can now finally boas a ruly global commimen

    o address climae change. Despie he grea progress a Paris, he ramework o which

     we agreed can only ever provide leaders wih inormaion. I is sill up o us o make he

    ough choices. Ta’s an area where progressives shine because, unlike conservaives, we

    have he abiliy o be bold where boldness is required, and we have he abiliy o make big

    changes in a humane way. Te world needs progressive leadership more han ever i we’re

    o ruly address climae change.

    O course, wihou elecoral vicory, i’s impossible o implemen our ideas in he firs

    place, and ha presens cyclical challenges. Public ases abou his argumen or ha

    policy change wih he years, and ha means progressives need o consanly adap heir

    plans and campaigns o sui he democraic mood.

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    FUTURE OF GLOBAL PROGRESS: Andrew Little  67

    Bu one hing ha never alers is he public demand or orward hinking abou he

    grea challenges acing people and he world. Early in his cenury, he world looks o

    social democras o mee he grea challenges o our age. We’ll shape a generaionalopporuniy as echnology eases he burden o work. We’ll figh an hisoric scourge

    as we make sure economic gains are shared airly by owners and workers. And we’ll

    mee a shared moral challenge as we prepare he world o address climae change. Te

    public looks o us o lead hese effors because hey know our capaciy or bold and

    innovaive policy is unmached.

    Endnotes

    1 New Zealand Parliament, “Supplementary Estimates—Im-prest Supply Debate,” June 22, 2004, available at http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-—-im-prest-supply-debate.

      2 Luxembourg Income Study, “Inequality & Poverty” (2016),available at http://www.lisdatacenter.org/data-access/key-figures/inequality-and-poverty/; New Zealand Ministry ofSocial Development, “Household Incomes in New Zealand”(2014), available at https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/house-hold-incomes/. 

    http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debatehttp://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debatehttp://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debatehttp://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debatehttp://www.lisdatacenter.org/data-access/key-figures/inequality-and-poverty/http://www.lisdatacenter.org/data-access/key-figures/inequality-and-poverty/https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/http://www.lisdatacenter.org/data-access/key-figures/inequality-and-poverty/http://www.lisdatacenter.org/data-access/key-figures/inequality-and-poverty/http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debatehttp://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debatehttp://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debatehttp://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20040622_00000898/supplementary-estimates-%E2%80%94-imprest-supply-debate