How Econ 101 upholds racist systems (with Joelle Gamble)

The foundational metaphor of neoliberalism is that a rising tide lifts all boats. But, like many other assumptions in economic thought, that idea willfully ignores racism. Economist Joelle Gamble joins Jessyn and Nick to explain that when economists fail to scrutinize theories through the lens of race, they perpetuate racist outcomes. Plus, The Sadie Collective co-founder Fanta Traore describes how the economics field can take deliberate measures to address the exclusion of Black economists.

Joelle Gamble is a principal with the reimagining capitalism team at Omidyar Network, where she focuses on topics related to building the power of working people and shaping a new economic paradigm. Joelle writes on topics of race, labor, and technology, and sits on the board of directors of the Roosevelt Institute. 

Twitter: @joelle_gamble

@OmidyarNetwork

Fanta Traore is a Senior Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the co-founder and COO of The Sadie Collective. 

Twitter: @TheFantaTraore

@SadieCollective

Further reading: 

How economic assumptions uphold racist systems: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/how-economic-assumptions-uphold-racist-systems

An Open Letter to Economic Institutions In The Face of #BlackLivesMatter: https://medium.com/@sadiecollective/open-letter-to-economics-blm-5b38100e59b5

What the Big New Study About Race and Mobility Doesn’t Tell Us: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/what-the-big-new-study-about-race-and-mobility-doesnt-tell-us/

Neoliberalism and Race: https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/53/neoliberalism-and-race/

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer