Economic Transition Moment

Dear Friends,

Our economy is in transition. A new economic system must respond to the realities of climate change, collapsing financial markets, disparities in wealth, and industries too big to manage sustainably.

Inspired by the writings of Fritz Schumacher, Jane Jacobs, Martin Buber, the Gandhian J.C. Kumarappa and other decentralist economic thinkers, the E. F. Schumacher Society has worked for three decades to develop the theory and application of place-based economic institutions that link people, land, and community.

These small examples of positive citizen action are now helping to inform a vibrant national and international dialogue about creating solutions to our common economic problems. The BerkShares local currency program alone is drawing over 43,000 hits per day to the Schumacher Society’s information rich websites.

A big thanks to our members who have supported the E. F. Schumacher Society in the past. Your new donations are most welcome to enable staff to respond to the opportunities of this transition moment with economic models carefully framed and shaped on the ground. Donations may be made on-line (http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/donation_form.html) or by mail to 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230.

Several conferences over the next few months are addressing the economy in transition including the Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures on October 17th in Stockbridge, Massachusetts with Bill McKibben, Benjamin Barber, and Alisa Gravitz and the Economics of Peace conference in October in Sonoma, California. You will find links below and at the events page of the E. F. Schumacher Society’s website.

Best wishes,
Susan Witt, Sarah Hearn, and Stefan Apse
E. F. Schumacher Society
smallisbeautiful.org
berkshares.org
youtube.com/efssociety
efssociety.blogspot.com
twitter.com/efssociety

Board of Directors: Jessica Brackman, Starling Childs, Merrian Fuller, Hildegarde Hannum, Eric Harris-Braun, Daniel Levinson, Constance Packard, Joseph Stanislaw, Nancy Jack Todd, and Charles Turner.
Board of Founders: Ian Baldwin, David Ehrenfeld, Satish Kumar, John McClaughry, and Kirkpatrick Sale.
Advisory Board: Tanya Berry, Wendell Berry, Lisa Byers, Olivia Dreier, Hazel Henderson, Wes Jackson, Amory Lovins, John McKnight, David Orr, Michael Shuman, Cathrine Sneed, Lewis Solomon, John Todd, Greg Watson, Barbara Wood, and Arthur Zajonc.

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June 25th and 26th Washington, DC, Convergence on Zero conference on tools for moving to zero emissions (www.convergenceonzero.org)

September 10th and 11th, Santa Fe, NM, Slow Money National Gathering (www.slowmoneyalliance.org)

October 17th, Stockbridge, MA, E. F. Schumacher Annual Lectures (www.smallisbeautiful.org)

October 18th-23rd, Sonoma, CA, Economics of Peace (www.praxispeace.org)

October 22nd-25th, New Bedford, MA, Bioneers by the Bay (www.marioninstitute.org)

October 24th, 350.org, International Day of Climate Action led by Bill McKibben (www.350.org)