Economics for Emancipation: Advancing Radical Economics Through Popular Education with Economic Justice Activists

This essay explores a key approach to advancing radical economics: collaborating with economic justice activists beyond the classroom. It offers two main contributions to the pedagogy of radical economics. First, it discusses an approach to using Freirean popular education principles in radical economics education through presenting “Economics for Emancipation” (E4E), a curriculum on political economy designed by the Center for Popular Economics (CPE) and the Center for Economic Democracy (CED). Second, it addresses a gap in the literature by presenting a case study of teaching radical economics to primarily nonprofit-based economic justice activists. While this approach expands access to diverse audiences and emphasizes learning, challenges include activists’ limited time, difficulty prioritizing education, and a preference for online workshops, which can reduce interaction quality. Managing the role of technical expertise, liaising with organizations, and determining the appropriate target audience remain the subject of ongoing discussion. JEL Classification: A20, B51, B54, P51