Agenda for a New Economy - from phantom wealth to real wealth Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth David C. Korten Paperback, 2nd Edition, August 2010, 288 pages List Price: $19.95. Price: $15.95 (You Save 20%) And eligible for FREE Shipping on orders of $25 or more. Nearly two years after the economic meltdown joblessness and foreclosures are still endemic, Wall Street executives are once again getting massive bonuses, and there doesn’t seem to be the will in Washington to make desperately needed fundamental changes to the economy. In this revised and updated edition Korten offers more in-depth advice on how to mount a grassroots campaign to bring about an economy based on locally-owned, community-oriented "living enterprises," whose success is measured as much by their positive impact on people and the environment as by their positive balance sheet. 2011 Independent Publisher Book Award silver medalist. You Might Also Be Interested In: The David Korten Book Set
Herman Daly: The Developing Ideas Interview the Developing Ideas interview with Conventional economics is under siege. For much of the latter half of the Twentieth Century, a group of professionals called economists has enjoyed unparalleled influence over the course of world development. Despite considerable successes, there have been numerous glaring failures. Among the critics, one stands out. The Irrationality of Homo Economicus to our writer Karl Hansen. DI: Is the intellectual higher ground in economics increasingly up for grabs? Daly: Good question. The first thing the canonical assumptions abstract from is any notion of community - nothing but isolated individuals, Homo economicus. And I think it [the intellectual higher ground] is up for grabs in the sense that it's beginning to be challenged and I think that some of the popes of the profession are getting rather defensive. DI: Who are the 'popes of the profession'? Daly: Oh my. DI: I think a lot of people would say you're a pope or upcoming pope of the profession ...
Future - Could ‘resurrection plants’ be the future of food? When she was a child, Jill Farrant, a molecular physiologist based at the University of Cape Town, came across an unusual plant. It seemed dead, yet when the rain fell from the sky, it sprung back to life. Her father didn’t believe her. What Farrant saw was a “resurrection plant”, which can survive with no water for months to years. Seeing how quickly the plants recover is remarkable sight (Watch a timelapse in the video above at 1:30). Now Farrant hopes to tap these abilities to transform food production. The video above is part of a series called The Genius Behind: The most amazing and sometimes little known technological and scientific breakthroughs of modern times, and the innovative minds behind them.
Summify - The Old Economy’s Not Coming Back. So What’s Next? Meet the people and ideas on the cutting edge of the movement for a new economy. posted May 26, 2011 Editor's Note: When our friends at The Nation asked us to share this article with you, we were excited. The idea that we need a “new economy”—that the entire economic system must be radically restructured if critical social and environmental goals are to be met—runs directly counter to the American creed that capitalism as we know it is the best, and only possible, option. The new economy movement seeks an economy that is increasingly green and socially responsible, and one that is based on rethinking the nature of ownership and the growth paradigm that guides conventional policies. That the term “new economy” has begun to explode into public use in diverse areas may be an indication that the movement has reached a critical stage of development—and a sign that the domination of traditional thinking may be starting to weaken. Democratizing Ownership New Economy, New Ways to Work
Celia Brauer: Putting the “home” back in economics I have heard this reminder about the roots of the word economics many times. Perhaps it is because I choose to listen to people who speak about the importance of the Earth in our lives. But I sense I am out of step with many of my fellow humans and nowhere is this more obvious than when I read discussions about the “economy” in the media. As the fear of more recessions loom, columnists are trying to make sense of the daily ups and downs of the world’s economies and its impact on our world’s governments and their people. I suppose we can take comfort in the fact that so many are contributing but this is dangerous territory. Surveying many of these discussions—there is a very obvious omission. To give a short summary, ecological economics is very much a discussion of economics as if the Earth’s physical structure and biological processes mattered. We still use many of these latter models of economic theory today.
This Amazing Village in India Plants 111 Trees Every Time a Little Girl is Born Every culture has its own traditions surrounding the birth of a child. While we celebrate newborn girls by sending pink dresses and dolls, in the village of Piplantri in Rajasthan, India, they celebrate by planting 111 trees. That’s right, every time a little girl is born in Piplantri, 111 trees are planted in her honor! In most Indian villages, the birth of a daughter was historically considered a burden for a family. Violence against women derived from these attitudes is still a heated topic in India. In juxtaposition, the tradition of planting trees to welcome the birth of female children in Piplantri seems to completely reject these historical constraints, fostering hope that attitudes towards women can change. This amazing custom was started by former village leader Shyam Sundar Paliwal to honor his daughter who passed away when she was young. When a girl is born, village members band together to raise a sort of “trust” for the girl. All image source: Piplantri.com
french - Comment l’économie du partage crée du lien social Alors que les échanges marchands créent de plus en plus d'exclusion sociale et de défiance, l'économie du partage, par le don, transforme les relations grâce à la reconnaissance et l'inter-dépendance. Le XXème siècle aura été incontestablement celui de l’échange marchand. Jamais l’humanité n’avait autant commercé, exporté, importé. Jamais les transactions n’avaient été aussi simples et rapides. Bizarrement, alors que les hommes entraient toujours plus en interaction et devenaient toujours plus dépendants les uns des autres, ce XXème siècle aura connu un immense délitement des structures sociales traditionnelles sans création d’autres structures alternatives efficaces. Ce paradoxe bizarre entre l’accroissement des relations humaines et la diminution du lien social pourrait-il trouver une explication dans la nature trompeuse de l’échange marchand ? Quand l’échange marchand abolit la relation Frédéric Laupiès, Leçon philosophique sur l’échange Don et contre-don Photos flickr stevendepolo
To Bear Witness and to Speak the Truth « Charles Eisenstein For years, normality has been stretched nearly to its breaking point, a rope pulled tighter and tighter, waiting for a nip of the black swan’s beak to snap it in two. Now that the rope has snapped, do we tie its ends back together, or shall we undo its dangling braids still further, to see what we might weave from them? Covid-19 is showing us that when humanity is united in common cause, phenomenally rapid change is possible. None of the world’s problems are technically difficult to solve; they originate in human disagreement. In coherency, humanity’s creative powers are boundless. Covid-19 is like a rehab intervention that breaks the addictive hold of normality. For most of my life, I have had the feeling that humanity was nearing a crossroads. Now, all of a sudden, we go around a bend and here it is. I write these words with the aim of standing here with you – bewildered, scared maybe, yet also with a sense of new possibility – at this point of diverging paths. The Reflex of Control