Scale Limitations/Shaping a Future Economy

John Fullerton described the current financial collapse in his May 2008 essay "The Relevance of E. F. Schumacher in the 21st Century." It now seems prophetic.

In the same article he warned us not to look to the tweaking of current economic systems to solve our problems, but rather to reach to the teachings of our common wisdom traditions to find new ways of assessing the truth of our situation and to collectively build new economic systems that are just, ecologically responsible, and permanent. In fact he names this rebuilding as the central task of concerned citizens in the first decades of this century.

We have posted his full article at the E. F. Schumacher Society's website (http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/publications/fullerton_08.html) and excerpted sections below for your reading.

Best wishes,
Staff of the E. F. Schumacher Society
140 Jug End Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
www.smallisbeautiful.org

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Excerpts from:
"The Relevance of E. F. Schumacher in the 21st Century"
By John Fullerton
May, 2008

Our global economic system is broken not because of the credit crisis; it is broken because it is predicated on perpetual, resource driven growth with no recognition of scale limitations.

What we are not hearing, at least in the mainstream media, is a critical reframing of the questions that address root causes. . . . . We are not hearing a debate about the sustainability of a perpetually growing global economic system nested within our finite biosphere. We are not hearing a debate about the wisdom of allowing financial power (and systemic risk) to be increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few financial institutions of increasing complexity and scale. We are not publicly questioning the wisdom of the system we have allowed to evolve in response to capital's quest for ever increasing financial returns. Nor are we debating where to look for creative responses.

However, nothing could be more important at this critical time. What we must grasp is that the financial crisis we are reacting to is but a cyclical side show to the bigger issues we face regarding the sustainability of our economic system. We should see the present financial crisis as a wake up call to this far greater challenge. We should search with an open mind for the wisdom we need to transition our economic system onto a sustainable path, grounded in ecological reality, with a respect for human justice and a deep appreciation for all life.

What is needed is nothing less than a new economic myth, which incorporates the central issue of scale in order to supplant and transcend the "invisible hand" of the free market. We need a "post-modern (post-materialist) economic theory".

At the beginning of the 20th century, scale did not matter. At start of the 21st century, scale redefines our economic challenge.

In my personal quest for this new economic myth, I was stopped dead in my tracks after discovering E.F. Schumacher several years ago. Most who know of Schumacher know him from his seminal work, Small is Beautiful - Economics as if People Mattered (1973). The fortunate ones have also read his final published work, A Guide for the Perplexed, a title that grabbed me and did not disappoint. Most disciples of Schumacher probably encountered his clear thinking during the 70s. Many went on to become leaders in the environmental movement. I was in junior high school when Small is Beautiful was published, and then was busy building a career in global finance during the 80s and 90s on the belief that finance rather than politics would dominate international relations during my lifetime. I got that right, but not in the way I expected. Seeing global finance, what I do, as a root cause in fueling our unsustainable economic system, has shaken many of my prior beliefs on economics.

. . . it is now time that we transcend to an economics built upon wisdom. Schumacher's instruction is clear and compelling. "From an economic view point, the central concept of wisdom is permanence. We must study the economics of permanence." This intention takes us in a profoundly different direction than conventional, Cartesian thinking. "Permanence" suggests valuing durability over efficiency, stability over speed. These are different values from those typically celebrated in the marketplace.

We need to think about what adjustments are necessary to "insure" the permanence of our collective home, which must include a stable civil society. Such thinking must address the very nature of our economic system. Without a sustainable and just economic system, there is no permanence. We need to inject these ideas into the public debate by reframing the cyclical economic concerns that preoccupy the mainstream media. We see little true recognition of this profound challenge among our business, financial and governmental leadership, which remains absorbed with short-term tactical issues.

Following Schumacher's lead, we should look to the great wisdom traditions for direction in this truth. Where better to look than to the ideas and teachings from all cultures that have stood the test of time, rather than restrict ourselves to contemporary economic theories that we know are limited and incomplete.

Schumacher is relevant to our critical 21st century challenges precisely for this reason. His philosophy, his concern about the limits of materialistic scientism, his distinctions between divergent and convergent problems, and his ideas of decentralism, appropriate technology, and human scale to name but a few, are all rooted in the great spiritual and philosophical teachings. Not surprisingly, his ideas, in addition to being humane and just, are aligned with nature and nature's sustainable way, the only truly sustainable system we know. They are, I believe, rooted in truth as best as Schumacher could discern it, and therefore they represent wisdom, the wisdom of permanence.

If you examine Schumacher's personal library, which is carefully stewarded at the
E. F. Schumacher Society in the Berkshires, you will find that most of the texts are not about economics. Instead, they include the great philosophical and spiritual texts from all traditions. Schumacher's gift and genius was to derive economic principles and ideas from these teachings, to have the courage to speak the truth, despite knowing it often flew in the face of conventional economic thinking, and to make the truth accessible with his clear and witty prose. What emerges is certainly not the final word on the economics of permanence. Some of his thinking is outdated, or simply missed the mark. But as a foundation to build upon, it is invaluable. The reason his ideas about economics ring true is because they are built upon these wisdom traditions. The contradictions of modern economics are gone.

Our challenge now is to refine and update this thinking and to chart a practical path of convergence between the reality that exists in our economic system today and the principles we strive to uphold and upon which our long run prosperity undoubtedly depends. . . . The opening decades of 21st century may be our best chance to launch the critical transformation of our economic system to an economics of permanence. We need to get it right, as only our collective consciousness will allow.

Transitioning to a sustainable and just economic system is the ultimate challenge of the 21st century. History no doubt will judge our generation by how well we acknowledge, embrace and take up this challenge.

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John Fullerton is a former Managing Director of JPMorgan where he worked for 18 years in New York, London, and Tokyo, and subsequently was CEO of an energy focused hedge fund. He is now seeking to launch an investment fund focused on investing in high impact sustainability initiatives, and is working on The Purpose of Capital, a book about the role of investment capital in sustainable economics. He is a friend and supporter of the E. F. Schumacher Society in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. John can be reached at john@level3cap.com.

Co-producers of Our Own Economies

If our common interest is to build more independent regions and their unique regional cultures, then part of that effort will be to build more independent regional economies --ones in which the goods consumed locally are produced locally.

In her Cities and the Wealth of Nations, the late Jane Jacobs brilliantly argues that the best strategy for economic development is to generate import-replacement industries. She would have us examine what is now imported into a region and develop the conditions to instead produce those products from local resources with local labor. Unlike the branch of a multi-national corporation that might open and then suddenly close, driven by moody fluctuations in the global economy, a locally owned and managed business is more likely to establish a complex of economic and social interactions that build strong entwining regional roots, keeping the business in place and accountable to people, land, and community.

What then is the responsibility of concerned citizens to help build sustainable regional economies?

An independent regional economy calls for new regional economic institutions for land, labor, and capital to embody the scale, our endeavors. These new institutions cannot be government-driven, and rightly so. They will be shaped by free associations of consumers and producers, working cooperatively, sharing the risk in creating an economy that reflects shared culture and shared values. Small in scale, transparent in structure, designed to profit the community rather than profit from the community, they can address our common concern for safe and fair working conditions; for production practices that keep our air and soil and waters clean, renewing our natural resources rather than depleting them; for innovation in the making and distribution of the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter, and energy rather than luxury items; and for more equitable distribution of wealth.

Building of new economic institutions is hard work. Most of us rest complacently in our role as passive consumers, not co-producers and co-shapers of our own economies. But it is work that can be done, and fine beginnings are being made in the development of local currencies, community supported farms, regionally based equity and loan funds, worker-owned businesses, community land trusts, and business alliances for local living economies.

These initiatives are motivated by the affection that the citizens of a region have for their neighbors and neighborhoods; for the fields, forests, mountains, and rivers of their landscapes; for the local history and culture that binds these all together; and for their common future.

We encourage you to join regional economic projects in your own communities or create them anew. Inventory the
multitude of human, natural, and financial resources available for local production. Support existing businesses. Share information. Apply the genius of local knowledge to shape new enterprises. Celebrate successes.

On Saturday, September 20th BerkShares local currency will celebrate the two millionth BerkShare exchanged at one of our five participating banks with the Second Annual BerkShares Bash. Featuring some of the Berkshire businesses that define the program and our local economy, the event is scheduled for 1-5 PM on the front lawn of the John Dewey Academy at the historic Searles Castle, Main Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Admission is 5 BerkShares. Kids 12 and under are free. Delight in local musicians, yummy food, fine crafts, Roger the Jester, face-painting, stilt walking, neighbors and friends. Bring the family, a picnic basket, a blanket for sitting, extra BerkShares for treats, and the expectation of a great time.

Susan Witt for the
E. F. Schumacher Society

BerkShares Inspired Currency

Another town in England, Lewes, has issued a local currency that takes inspiration from BerkShares right here in western Massachusetts.

Check out the story Small UK Town Creates Own Currency to Beat the Credit Crunch

In addition to the inspiration taken from BerkShares, the Lewes Pound is modeled on the Totnes Pound.