Taking the High Road: Communities Organize for Economic Change

This book presents a vision for far-reaching economic change in America connected to practical grassroots steps. The "High Road" of the title refers to an economic system in which corporate success merges with the long-term welfare of the workers and the general population. The author examines the continued reality of social democracy in Europe and what lessons can be learned for the U.S. He demonstrates how progressive economic change is already being fought for by labor and community groups throughout Ameri in such efforts as the Living Wage Movement and the emerging battle against sprawl. And he provides a wealth of concrete examples, tools, and ideas that everyone can use to organize for economic and social justice in their own communities.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 European Social Democracy Points Toward the High Road; Chapter 1 Social Citizenship: Lessons from Sweden; Chapter 2 Associative Democracy: Lessons from Europe’s German Powerhouse; Chapter 3 Social Partnership and Social Ownership: Lessons from Austria; Chapter 4 Confronting “Globalization” and the New Capitalist Agenda; Chapter 5 Facing the Ecological Crisis: The Meaning of Green Politics; Chapter 6 The Progressive Potential in the United States: Liberal Confinement and Radical Renewal; Part 2 Organizing for the High Road at Home; Chapter 7 The Living Wage Movement Sweeps the Nation!; Chapter 8 Building a High-Road Agenda: Examples from Wisconsin; Chapter 9 State Campaigns for Economic Justice; Chapter 10 The New Labor Movement; Chapter 11 Melding Environmental and Social Justice Activism: The Emerging Battle Against Sprawl; Chapter 12 Toward a National Movement; Chapter 13 Progressive Electoral Politics;

About the Author :
David B. Reynolds is an activist, educator, and researcher in the Labor Studies Center at Wayne State University. He is a leader in the living wage movement—both nationally and in Michigan. Working in partnership with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), he authored Living Wage Campaigns: An Activist’s Guide to Building the Movement for Economic Justice (2001). He headed two teams that researched the impact of Detroit’s living wage law. Mr. Reynolds sits on the steering committee of several local living wage campaigns and has consulted and been interviewed nationally about living wage activism. In addition to his expertise in labor-community coalitions, Mr. Reynolds has helped unions develop worker-to-worker political mobilization programs. His Democracy Unbound: Progressive Challenges to the Two Party System (1997) explores grassroots progressive political organizing.