Economics for Emancipation is a course created by the Center for Economic Democracy (CED) and the Center for Popular Economics (CPE)
The current version of this course is the result of many years of work first led by the Center for Popular Economics (CPE) – a collective which was founded in 1979 by radical (or heterodox) economists out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They ran a yearly “Summer Institute” for union organizers in New England. Word spread over the decades, as organizers from across the country traveled to Amherst for the week-long in-person training which was rooted in popular education practices meant to serve real people and communities. This was and continues to be novel within the Economics field.

Since 2019, CPE has partnered with the Center for Economic Democracy (CED) to update and redesign its curriculum into “Economics for Emancipation” (E4E). During the 2020 CoVID crisis, CPE and CED worked to adapt E4E for virtual learning geared towards regional cohorts of just transition and social justice organizers, and thus was born this offering.
E4E has been shaped by decades of dialogue between progressive economists, grassroots organizers, and rank & file union workers; we hope it will strengthen your analysis, fuel your spirit and connect you to efforts challenging this economic system at its root. Let’s put study into action!
Our Facilitators
We have a cadre of trainers who with deep experience organizing in their communities, popular education principles, and facilitating this curriculum. They work in just transition organizations and communities across the U.S.
If you are interested in learning more about or working with our trainers, please contact us.
Past Participants
Past participants of our course / workshops include organizers, educators, practitioners, and activists from the following organizations (additional forthcoming):






Media Credits
Video Production, Narrative Consultation, and Animation: Robin Bean Crane and Ebony Gustave of Cooperative Journal Media
Creation & direction of logo, styleguide, color & design: Belén Marco Crespo
Website design & development: Poonam Whabi
More detailed credits in Site & Media Credits
This website was made possible by generous funding from the Chorus Foundation. Contact info@economics4emancipation.net if you have any questions or suggestions for this course.