A New Economic Paradigm? In the Concrete – Towards a New Model

A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not even worth glancing at ... (Oscar Wilde)

It is good to remember that utopia is nothing but the reality of tomorrow and that today’s reality is yesterday’s utopia. (Le Corbusier)

Politics left to managers and economics left to brokers add up to a recipe for social and environmental chaos. (Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury¹)

The Great Transition – New Economics Foundation

In October 2009, the New Economics Foundation (NEF), an independent think-and-do tank based in Britain, published The Great Transition,² its version of how things could ‘turn out right’ by 2050. The transition in question is to an economic model capable of responding to the situation of crisis that we find ourselves in and based on the values outlined in the first article in this series, published in the March 2010 issue of Working Notes.³ The model contains seven major steps, some aspects of which I will outline briefly.

October 2010

Working Notes Issue 64 Editorial

Even as the global economy shows signs of recovery from the financial and economic shocks of the past two years, worrying questions remain. Just how robust is the recovery: is it possible we may yet face a ‘double dip’ recession? How long until economic growth translates into a fall in unemployment? How severe will be the social, as well as the economic, impact of governments having to deal with the public debt incurred in order to prevent a deeper recession?

Anne B. Ryan

October 2010

Enough: Foundation for a Moral and Ecological Economics

Introduction

How can we live in harmony with nature? How do we stop global warming, the associated climate change and the destruction of ecosystems?

How can we eliminate poverty, provide security and create sufficiency for all the people of the earth?

How do we restore an ethic of care for people and for the earth?

In short, how can we put human and planetary well-being at the centre of all our decision-making?

Gerard Doyle

October 2010

Social Enterprise – An Untapped Resource

Introduction

Across Europe, social enterprises are making a significant impact on communities, particularly those blighted by high levels of unemployment, poverty and disadvantage. According to the European Commission, there are 2 million social enterprises in the EU (representing 10 per cent of all European businesses) and they employ over 11 million people (the equivalent of 6 per cent of the working population of the EU).  In EU Member States, social enterprises are present in almost every sector of the economy, including banking, insurance, agriculture, crafts, various commercial services, and health and social services.