Economist Isabella Weber calls for maximum prices for basic foods

Should the state determine how much rice and oil cost in the supermarket? Yes, says top economist Isabella Weber. In “Spiegel” she demands maximum prices for basic foods and government supplies on a large scale in order to keep prices stable in crises. "Of course it can't be about setting the prices of 97 types of chewing gum. But it can be about setting the prices of a basket of basic foods," she told the magazine.

Similar to Ludwig Erhard's “Everyman Program,” the government could ask large supermarket chains to offer staple foods at a stabilized price, said Weber. In return, they would receive subsidies and tax breaks. “You just can’t make excess profits.” Weber teaches at the US University of Massachusetts in Amherst and advises parties and governments worldwide.

Weber sees a connection between crises and the AfD election. The economist calls for a fundamentally different economic policy in response to the rise of right-wing parties. Germany is “in a multiple economic and national crisis that is leading to disorientation and a lack of future,” said Weber in an interview with “Spiegel”. Research since the 1930s has shown that economic uncertainty and crises correlate with influxes into right-wing extremist forces. "We see that those who vote for the AfD often suffer from financial insecurity. They want an alternative to an unbearable status quo, and the myths of the right-wing extremists appear to be a way out."

Weber therefore relies on a state that consistently organizes itself around people's basic needs, such as providing affordable housing, heavily discounted local transport and cheap food. The economist calls this “anti-fascist economic policy” and claims that there is no other way to stop right-wing extremist parties: “We have to do away with the neoliberal premise that there is no alternative.”

What is needed is a “mental shift” in economic policy. The electoral successes of Zohran Mamdani in New York and the left-wing top candidate Elif Eralp in Berlin showed that such concepts are accepted by voters, at least in theory. Mamdani succeeded “in a brilliant way” in offering an alternative that brought him to power. "You can label such policies as left-wing. I would say they are common sense."