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”?
-
One goal is to create solar-powered
businesses that are ecologically sound and sustainable. These are already
being developed and the demand is growing.
-
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
-
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)
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