Welcome to Green Social Thought’s collection of labor and economics articles. Take a deep dive into green economics and labor perspectives. As advocates for environmental responsibility and social justice, we bring you insights into a transformative economic approach that challenges the status quo, particularly degrowth and union and worker rights.
In a world grappling with the consequences of excessive consumption and environmental degradation, degrowth stands as a bold alternative. Our articles explore the the green vision of reshaping our economic landscape, with a particular focus on scaling down unnecessary and detrimental aspects, such as military expenditures and empowering workers through unionization.
Explore the economic implications of embracing degrowth policies, from redefining prosperity to creating resilient and inclusive communities. Exploration of economic alternatives that prioritize people and the planet.
Article discusses the history and development of the KMU Labor Center of the Philippines, which this author has been researching for almost 40 years, and his recent participation in the KMU’s 13 National Congress in late June (2025).
Cairo, Apr 17 (Prensa Latina) The Egyptian website, the Hispano-Arab League, criticized the United States’ campaign against Cuba, including attacks on Cuba’s medical cooperation with other nations.
There is much to be explored behind the much touted “intelligence” of these machines. Behind the illusion of “intelligence” are thousands of human laborers: labeling data, moderating toxic content, or training models for cents per hour. Workers in Kenya, for example, were paid less than $2/hour to label graphic and traumatic content for OpenAI’s safety filters. These workers are sometimes called the “ghost workers” of AI, because their contributions are invisible in the final product. This hidden labor force is largely outsourced to developing countries or engaged as gig workers with few protections. This on-demand invisible workforce has become a new global underclass: workers have no job security, perform mind-numbingly repetitive tasks, and are subject to constant algorithmic surveillance and rating. They effectively function as humans acting like machines to make the machines seem smarter. The marvel of AI seems to be assembled on the backs of real human labor rendered invisible and stolen works of artists and writers.
Roberts explains the recent raft of tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2, which Trump dubbed “Liberation Day” but was described by the Wall Street Journal as “the dumbest trade war in history”. Roberts outlines how they fit into Trump’s broader project to reassert US global hegemony, and what a left response could look like.
Throughout history, trade restrictions have reshaped economies for good or for ill. As Trump increases tariffs across industries, it is clear that this move will not revitalize the economy as he claims. Rather, it stands to create further hardship for Black and working class people.
When teachers’ union president Ray Cummings told the superintendent that her plan could put students in danger, he brought together problems of excluding workers from critical decisions and schemes to use climate disasters to privatize public schools.
Finance now makes up about 20 – 25% of the global economy and sits at the center of the economic model that calls for eternal growth on a planet with finite resources, and finite ways to deal with the waste that results from the use of those resources.
Finance must change if we are to move from an unsustainable economic model that is ultimately destroying our life support system, to a post-growth economy that operates within planetary boundaries.
