new economy

Beyond Ecological Imperialism

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:20:50 -0500

by Jayati Ghosh

So the Copenhagen summit did not deliver any hope of substantive change, or even any indication that the world's leaders are sufficiently aware of the vastness and urgency of the problem. But is that such a surprise? Nothing in the much-hyped runup to the summit suggested that the organisers and participants had genuine ambitions to change course and stop or reverse a process of clearly unsustainable growth.

7 Ways the Battle of Seattle Changed the World

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:43:08 -0500

by Fran Korten

Did the 1999 protests against the World Trade organization in Seattle make a difference? After all, the WTO still exists and continues its push for the corporate-driven free trade agenda that was on the table 10 years ago. Now, especially in light of Wall Street's evident political and financial clout, it's easy to forget just what the world looked like in 1999. As I attended talks and workshops commemorating the Battle of Seattle, I was reminded of how much has changed.

Learning How to Count to 350: Seattle, Copenhagen, and Beyond

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:16:15 -0500

by Rebecca Solnit

Next month, at the climate change summit in Copenhagen, the wealthy nations that produce most of the excess carbon in our atmosphere will almost certainly fail to embrace measures adequate to ward off the devastation of our planet by heat and chaotic weather. Their leaders will probably promise us teaspoons with which to put out the firestorm and insist that springing for fire hoses would be far too onerous a burden for business to bear.

Economics without Ecocide

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:15:22 -0500

by Peter Brown & Geoffrey Garver

Guiding the global economy now is apparently in the hands of the G20. In September, at their meeting in Pittsburgh (their third in a year), the G20 leaders adopted what they called a "Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth."

The framework is cast as "a process for economic co-operation and coordination to help ensure that post-crisis policies avoid a return to dangerous imbalances that undermine long-term economic growth."

Copenhagen: Seattle Grows Up

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:03:27 -0500

by Naomi Klein

The other day I received a pre-publication copy of The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle, by David Solnit and Rebecca Solnit. It's set to come out ten years after a historic coalition of activists shut down the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle, the spark that ignited a global anticorporate movement.

Capitalism’s Incarnations

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:25:59 -0500

by John Buell

Is capitalism evil? Is it bound to pass from the scene? I thought such questions were forever relegated to occasional seminars in a few cloistered left academies. Now, compliments of Michael Moore and the Great Recession, such questions are part of our national discourse. Yet, as even many on the left would caution, shorting capitalism is a dangerous strategy that has burned many over the last two centuries.

Economic Growth Has Failed Us. What's the Alternative?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:26:33 -0500

by Tim Jackson

Economic growth is supposed to deliver prosperity. Higher incomes should mean better choices, richer lives, an improved quality of life for us all. That at least is the conventional wisdom. But things haven't always turned out that way.

Growth has delivered its benefits, at best, unequally. A fifth of the world's population earns just 2 per cent of global income. Inequality is higher in the OECD nations than it was 20 years ago. Far from improving the lives of those who most needed it, growth let much of the world's population down. Wealth trickled up to the lucky few.

Path to a Peace Economy

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:57:42 -0400

by David Korten

My subject tonight is the Path to a Peace Economy, based on ideas elaborated in my most recent book, Agenda for a New Economy, and the New Economy issue of YES! Magazine.

The Victory of the Commons

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:54:42 -0400

by Jay Walljasper

The biggest roadblock standing in the way of many people's recognition of the importance of the commons came tumbling down when Indiana University professor Elinor Ostrom won the Nobel Prize for Economics.

Reviving the Local Economy With Publicly Owned Banks

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:16:22 -0400

by Ellen Brown

The credit crunch is getting worse on Main Street, despite a Wall Street bailout now in the trillions of dollars. The Federal Reserve's charts show that "base money" is rapidly expanding—meaning coins, paper money, and commercial banks' reserves with the central bank.