Sunday, March 06, 2011

"7 Steps for Action Toward a New Economy," by David Korten.

Several others have pointed the way to this succinct and valuable article, as it appears at the web site of BALLE - Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.

Korten strikes to the very heart of perhaps the most vital issue faced by New Albany as city council elections approach:

Do we continue to out-source "economic development" to oligarchic entities like the GOP and One Southern Indiana, which persist in touting the "economic policies and institutions responsible for Old Economy failure," or do we bring these responsibilities and commitments back into our own houses, right here, by studying, future planning and building New Economy solutions?

Do we persist in groveling while proffering thousands to provide air conditioning at 1Si's behest for a multi-billion dollar foreign corporation, or do we begin using this money to empower our own people to work for economic solutions at home, in this community?

Do we continue to unthinkingly emulate the language of the oligarchs and ape their pieties, which naturally exist to "secure the privilege and extravagance of the few," or do we define our own terms and pursue principled solutions?

7 Steps for Action Toward a New Economy, by David Korten

Hope for our common human future depends instead on global cooperation to create a world in which every child can look forward to a prosperous, secure, and meaningful life irrespective of nationality, race, or religion. This will require replacing the economic policies and institutions responsible for Old Economy failure with the policies and institutions of a New Economy — one based on positive life-values and a democratic distribution of power.

3 comments:

Jeff Gillenwater said...

The amount of fear 1Si generates is pretty amazing. It's just too bad people choose fear as a primary motivator.

Antiques Attic said...

Great article,thanks for sharing.

Simple solution-all individual communities need to build on and support local independent businesses-then watch the health and growth of that community develop into what we know and hope our communities to be.
As this occurs nationwide, 1 community at a time, our nation returns to what it was blessed with from the beginning economically. A wealthy nation as a beacon to the world,respected and an example to all.
Individual communities prospering and taking care of their own, instead of the few prospering and dictating what will or won't be to the masses.

G Coyle said...

Also responsible for so much misguided and corrupt economic development are the various and always multiplying local and state gov't economic development entities. We have more people on the payroll in New Albany doing "economic development" than we have doing code enforcement. Totally ass-backwards.