ATTACHMENT 6-2
Read Aloud
Living In A New Economy
From David Korten, Agenda for a New Economy
We do, in fact, have the means to create an economy that fulfills six criteria of economic health. Such an economy would:
1. Provide everyone with the opportunity for a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life.
2. Bring human consumption into balance with Earth’s natural systems.
3. Nurture relationships within strong, caring communities.
4. Honor sound, rule-based market principles.
5. Support an equitable and socially efficient allocation of resources.
6. Fulfill the democratic ideal of one-person, one-vote citizen sovereignty.
From Juliet Schor, Plentitude: The New Economy of True Wealth
Ways to Get to the New Economy:
SHIFT OUT OF THE WORK-AND-SPEND-CYCLE: Our households and communities must shift out of the market of the past and into undervalued sources of wealth: time, creativity (especially ecological knowledge) and social relationships.
DIVERSIFY: Households will diversify our sources of income and ways of meeting our consumption needs, by reducing time spent in the “business as usual” economy.
LOCAL AND SMALL SCALE: The jobs of the future will be generated by the innovative and dynamic small-scale sector of small businesses and self-employment.
Changes in Our Lives in the New Economy
TIME: In the new economy, we will use our time very differently. We will make, rather than buy; share, rather than spend; and build social relationships.
HIGH-TECH SELF-PROVISIONING: Instead of working in the labor market for money to buy things, we’ll spend more of our time meeting our own basic needs, using new technologies that make self-reliance easier.
CONSUMING DIFFERENTLY: The new consumption includes accessing “new-to-you” products, sharing expensive items such as cars and appliances, and making careful purchases of long-lasting goods.
CONNECTION: People who have strong social connections, or what’s called social capital, fare much better when times get rough.
