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    Common Dreams. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
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    Common DreamsTo inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.

    sustainability

    Trump with chart of reciprocal tariffs.

    The US Leads the Global Race to the Bottom—and Still Pretends to Be the Victim

    Trump’s tariffs are not a departure from business as usual; they are an extension of it and will overwhelmingly benefit the world’s financial elite.

    Megan Thiele Strong
    Apr 28, 2025

    Global trade systems are not free, nor are they neutral. They were built to facilitate capital transfer and to transfer wealth upward—benefiting the rich while harming workers worldwide. This arrangement can feel too big, too abstract, and too disconnected from our experience. For these reasons, and as a sociologist across decades and schools, I have facilitated this race to the bottom activity to help students understand the problems inherent to our complex global reality.

    In the Transnational Capital Auction: A Game of Survival simulation, students role play as leaders of countries with less wealth than GDP leading nation states. They are instructed that they rely on trade and economic development from wealthier countries such as the United States and powerful transnational corporations.

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    trade
    Residents cooking in an intentional community.

    6 Reasons for Communitarian Living

    As disasters become more frequent and politics destabilizes, it feels more important than ever to live connected to other people.

    Elizabeth Sawin
    Apr 13, 2025

    This spring my husband and I are moving three tenths of a mile and 200 years back in time.

    We are moving from our super-energy-efficient, passive solar home built in 2001 to a farmhouse built in 1800. (And looking for someone to buy the cozy green home we raised our family in. Check it out here and spread the word!) We are excited to have more space to share with extended family. And, we will have a project on our hands! Regaining some of the features we are leaving behind—heat pumps, PV, a composting toilet, and more—will take time. A fun and satisfying challenge we hope!

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    Opinion
    solidarity
    Climate protest outside World Bank.

    The World Bank’s Private Sector Cult Endangers the Planet

    The nearly $4.7 billion in International Finance Corporation trade finance commitments that may have supported fossil fuel-related projects in 2023 is a telltale example.

    Jannis Perzlmeier
    Feb 27, 2025

    Since assuming office, World Bank President Ajay Banga has pursued a clear agenda: mobilize vast amounts of private capital in service of the bank’s goal to end poverty on a livable planet. There are many valid criticisms of this approach, but none speaks louder than a deeper look into the World Bank’s own private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, or IFC, and its dealings.

    Urgewald’s research on IFC trade finance in Financial Year (FY) 2022 and FY2023 shows just how slippery the private sector slope can be. Indeed, the IFC trade finance program’s alarming developments exemplify the World Bank’s overall trajectory: throwing good money after bad, neglecting environmental and social standards, and prioritizing private profit over public well-being.

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    Opinion
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