In the United States, the term “socialism” has been widely misunderstood and used to discredit even modest reforms.  This symposium will explore achievements and missteps in implementing socialism in China, India, Scandinavia, and Latin America.  It will weigh socialism’s value in addressing global challenges of climate change, economic inequality, and human rights abuses.

Registration Instructions:  Register for In-Person and Virtual Symposium.  Email dussourd@buffalo.edu

Today’s Socialisms and Human Rights

Program

9:00 IN-PERSON CHECK-IN

9:15 WELCOMING REMARKS

9:30-11:30 UNDERSTANDING SOCIALISM: ACHIEVEMENTS AND MISSTEPS

Socialism in China: Past and Future
Ying Chen, Assistant Professor of Economics, New School for Social Research

Experiments with Socialism in India: Comparing Kerala and West Bengal
Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Would Democratic Socialism Be Better?
Lane Kenworthy, Professor of Sociology and Yankelovich Chair in Social Thought, University of California San Diego

11:30-12:30 LUNCH

12:30-1:50 SOCIALISM AS A RESPONSE TO GLOBAL PROBLEMS

Eco-Socialism and the Green New Deal
Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor of Economics; Co-Director, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Why 21st Century Socialism will Focus on Democratizing Workplaces, not Government Economic Interventions
Richard Wolff, Visiting Professor, The New School; Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

2:00-3:20 SOCIALISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Latin America’s “Left Turns”: Socialism, Democracy, and Social Citizenship Rights
Kenneth Roberts, Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government, Cornell University

Rethinking Economics for Social Justice: The Radical Potential of Human Rights
James Heintz, Andrew Glyn Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

3:20-3:30 CLOSING REMARKS & WRAP-UP DISCUSSION

Sponsors:

Alison Des Forges Memorial Committee; University at Buffalo: Departments of Comparative Literature, History, Political Science, and Africana and African-American Studies; Gender Institute; Humanities Institute; James Agee Chair in American Culture; Office of the Vice Provost for International Education, The Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy; Jack Walsh in Honor of Connie Walsh