The video of the webinar presentation and follow-up discussion can be found here.
SocialCommons.ca organized and sponsored this informative and stimulating conversation exploring the past, present, and future of municipal democratic socialism. The four noted speakers each made a compelling case for the critical importance of local democratic socialism as a way to better meet community needs and give voice to the concerns and interests of working people.
Shelton Stromquist started by provided a historical overview of municipal socialism, highlighting its global emergence in the late 19th century as a response to urban crises and elite governance. He focused on how cities became centres of labour and socialist politics in the late 19th century. He discussed how economic instability and mass strikes led workers to turn to local politics, with examples from around the world including England, Australia, Germany, Austria and the United States. Shelton also highlighted the transnational nature of this movement and concluded by drawing parallels to current municipal politics, noting that the legacy of municipal socialism has renewed relevance today as cities face attacks on both their public infrastructures and capacity to mobilize and act.
Kofi Hope argued that the re-emergence of “sewer socialism,” represents the most viable strategy for achieving municipal socialism by focusing on delivering quality public services and focusing on improving residents’ quality of life and living conditions in practical ways. He noted research on Toronto’s politics, including how Rob Ford successfully tapped into geographic and class resentment by addressing basic service delivery issues that progressive politicians had ignored. Kofi concluded that progressives must reclaim the discourse of retail politics by delivering tangible improvements in public services and streamlining government processes to rebuild trust with voters and earn the social license needed for more ambitious transformations.
Jim Stanford discussed the economic benefits of public services, particularly human and caring services delivered at the municipal level, emphasizing that they contribute significantly to GDP, employment, and well-being while reducing inequality. He highlighted that public services help to protect and insulate people from global economic strife and provide concrete improvements to working people’s lives. Both are crucial in building political credibility and broader public support. The discussion also stressed the critical importance of left-wing platforms being able to deliver quality services that meet material needs if they are going to successfully counter conservative agendas.
Jin Huh highlighted how community wealth building offers a tangible and more locally responsive alternative to neo-liberal economic policies, outlining five pillars including progressive procurement, community ownership, worker cooperatives, fair work practices, inclusive democratic governance and land stewardship through community land trusts. She noted Toronto’s progress in social procurement, including the City’s $100 million in contracts to certified diverse suppliers and the AnchorTO network of 19 public sector institutions. Jin emphasized the importance of community ownership as well as public or municipal ownership, and discussed recommendations for expanding social procurement policies to other institutions like the TTC and community health services.
The speakers also referenced helpful resource materials to further your understanding of the issues under discussion. They are briefly listed below:
Shelton Stromquist’s book, Claiming the City:A Global History of Workers’ Fight for Municipal Socialism
Link to the study Kofi Hope referred to. https://community-voices.report/
Link provided by Jim Stanford. https://centreforfuturework.ca/tag/publicsectorwork/
Link to Social Planning Toronto’s report on Community Wealth Building. https://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/communitywealth
