Changing the World Starts with Interpreting It

Abstract

This article is the Second Godbole Memorial Lecture delivered at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and focuses on the challenges before progressive movements in the wake of growing inequalities and rise of neoliberal market fundamentalism.^* It addresses the dilemmas faced by social democracy and contends that the imagination of revolutionary change must be combined with radical incrementalism to bring about positive changes in the lives of the working people. The essay identifies four areas in which interventions are needed by a united left-leaning labour movement to combat the rise of right-wing forces, namely, reigning in globalization, democratizing societies and economies, democratizing our organizations and thinking justice globally.