The New Economy Movement - a Sign of Hope.
By Sister Brenda Walsh, Racine Dominican
Recently, I learned about The New Economy Movement? from one of its
Founders, Gar Alperovitz. Mr. Alperovitz is author of America Beyond
Capitalism? and several other books. He is political economist and
President of the Democracy Collaborative. Currently he and his
colleagues are continuing to develop and share information on the
New Economy Movement.? He has served as legislative director in the
US house of Representative and in the US Senate.
The
movement is spreading rapidly across the land. It involves many
innovative thinkers that create bold experiments to develop a model
that is based on economic justice, care for the earth and
environment, sustainability and concern for all people, especially
those living on the margins of life. The hope is to get people
beyond the "business as usual"? model and to create and implement
one that will involve people of all ages, color, class, culture and
creed to move the endeavor forward.
What are the elements of the "New Economy Movement"??
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One goal is to create solar-powered businesses that are
ecologically sound and sustainable. These are already being
developed and the demand is growing.
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Another trend is democratized ownership of the economy. This is
demonstrated in the development of state-owned banks that are
concerned about the majority of the people and not just
beneficial for a few. They are banks that are responsive to
community needs.
-
Cooperatives are developing also and are very much part of the
new movement,
-
especially those that emphasize citizen participation,
sustainability and green concerns
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Many social enterprises are being developed, following the same
guidelines,
-
to
reach out to the impoverished and to empower people for life and
work.
The
movement is making much progress but there is still much to be done
by way of educating, training, and working to change current
practices at many different levels.
It
faces daunting challenges in the implementation of the New Economy
Movement.
It
challenges the American economic and political system dominated by
large banking and corporate interests.
The
movement also encourages growth reduction in order to eliminate the
dangers of climate change. This makes the challenges immediate and
long-term.
To
gather more information about the New Economy Movement go to
www.twitter.com/Garalper or
press@democracycollaborative.org
Mailing address is:
Democracy Collaborative
6930 Carroll Ave, Suite 4l4
Takoma Park, MD 20912
(Printed with permission of Gar Alperovicz)
