[Ed. note: Western Massachusetts has long been at the forefront of visioning and building a different type of setup for our communities, our economy, and our democracy. So it is with great excitement that we received the news from the E.F. Schumacher Society in Great Barrington that they are reconfiguring themselves and partnering with the UK’s New Economics Foundation to establish The New Economics Institute. These times scream out for a new economics, from the theoretical level down to the very bills we keep in our wallet, and the E.F. Schumacher Society has crucial experience across that entire spectrum.]

A PROPOSAL FOR CONVENING
Building a New Economics Institute

Over the past year we have all watched in amazement as the old economy unraveled before us—banks failing, established corporations seeking bankruptcy protection, unemployment increasing, climate change progressing unabated, and governments nervously printing currency hoping to buy their way out of these problems. The urgency of shaping a new economy—one that is fair and sustainable, that functions within ecological limits, and takes into account people and cultures throughout the world—has never been clearer.

A successful transition to a new economy in which people and the earth have a higher priority than financial return will require a restructuring of institutions and governance frameworks; changes in values and behavior; hard decisions; and decisive actions on the part of individuals, communities, civil society, firms and governments throughout the world. If such a transition is to be successful, it will need to be rooted in robust systemic analysis, employ effective hard-hitting advocacy, and offer proven, practical solutions. In addition, it will require a coherent and encompassing narrative that is both compelling and accessible and that draws together the various components of a complex picture in such a way as to stimulate and support action at all levels.

Parts of the new economy are already known and underway.

What is needed now is some entity to bring these various organizations and individuals together, to frame a common story, to tell it in multiple voices, to strategize the steps towards implementation, and to take collective action to achieve the transition.

We see a New Economics Institute as a collaborative, open, inclusive, value-added think tank working closely with existing organizations and research programs to:

– Identify and fill gaps in knowledge;

– Package together various presently isolated strands of work into a coherent and encompassing narrative;

– Present these so as to achieve maximum impact on public and political debate, individual and business behavior, and public policy;

– Support existing organizations by building the profile of a coherent new economics; and

– Build a network of fellows from partnering organizations to engage in specific projects, research, or campaigns.

Building a New Economics Institute