|
Dave here: As social and environmental problems get worse, it's becoming clear that our current economic system isn't working well for most people or the planet. Dr. Josh Farley, an expert in ecological economics, joined Transition Town Jericho to explain why we need a new kind of economy—one based on cooperation and helping each other, rather than constant competition. On December 8, at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, 24 people joined Josh Farley to dig into the topic, “Rethinking Economics: Evolution, Community and Transition Towns”. MMCTV was also there, recording the presentation. The video link is at the end of this blog. Josh asked, what is the traditional goal of the economy? Growth, of course! But nature is not part of the equation and we have to realize that the economy is a subsystem of all of nature. Since humans outweigh all other life by 90%, there are less resources available for the rest of the beings on earth. How is this sustainable when we use micro economics which is “egocentric’? Alternatively, we can be “ecocentric” and support ecological economics, prioritizing the relationship between humans and the rest of nature. The question was posed; can we adjust to new ideas? We’ll first need to create the following new rules: • Ecological sustainability • Social justice • Efficient allocation with minimal ecological impact. Then we’ll need to manifest the new rules in the following ways: • Common ownership of wealth created by nature and societal as a whole • Collective decision making that accounts for future operation • Renewables, non-renewables Josh showed us how ideas from modern evolution support us in working together, and how community traditions like Ubuntu and Territories of Life point to healthier, more sustainable ways of living. One real world example is a project that turns ordinary grass lawns into edible, native gardens that support both people and the environment. Josh shared various examples of such gardens. Link here to the presentation: https://youtu.be/tnd5OkdQc10  Comments are closed.
|
