Conversations with GC Harcourt on Social Justice in the Face of Economic and Ecological Uncertainty

• Published in: The economic and labour relations review : ELRR Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 26 - 34
• Main Author: Harcourt, Wendy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Cambridge University Press 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Capitalism; Criminal justice policy; Debates; Ecologists; Economic crisis; Economic policy; Environmental impact; Feminism; Human security; Political activism; Political crises; Population growth; Racism; Reproductive rights; Social justice; Social reproduction; Australia
• ISSN: 1838-2673; 1035-3046; 1838-2673
• DOI: 10.1017/elr.2022.14

In this article, I share insights from the conversations I have enjoyed with my father GC Harcourt on gender, social justice, and economic policy in the last years of his long and fruitful life. Our conversations reflected our overlapping but at times divergent responses to the disruptions caused by environmental, climate, health, economic, and political crises. The article reflects on our conversations around population, alternatives, the pervasiveness of racism in Australia, and the recurring questions of how to bring about change and how to continue despite political disappointments. The article teases out in a gentle way how my perspective, as a feminist political ecologist, diverged from GC Harcourt’s views, and what our conversations together suggest as important challenges to overcome as we confront the current crises of modern capitalism.