The Schumacher Center for a New Economics was founded in 1980. Our website hosts 39 years of Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures in word, audio, ebook, and video format; 39 years of newsletters reporting on citizen initiatives to create local economies accountable to people, land, and community; 39 years of conference and seminar proceedings exploring new institutional forms for land, labor, and capital.
We honor the work of historic figures who challenged conventional thinking about economics and described a more responsible path. We highlight bold contemporary activists who put community economic theory into practice in their hometowns.
We steward an exceptional research library to inspire new theory and application. We lead by example in our own region of the Berkshires with innovation in currency issue, community land tenure, local investment, community supported industry, and crowd-sourced business planning. We experiment, make mistakes, adjust, and publish the results – proud to display economic institution-making in process. We engage media with stories of what is possible. We partner with other organizations to expand outreach. We answer questions about replication.
In 1989, we repurposed a 2,000 square foot building to serve as our office and library; in 2008, we purchased a nearby staff house to ensure our young colleagues and visitors have an affordable place to stay in the high-priced Berkshires; and this year we invested in renovations to the Library building, adding 1,600 square feet of customized space, better protecting our valued books and papers, and creating generous room for program convening.
We are well-positioned to continue our multi-faceted advocacy for a new economics in which people and planet matter. Won’t you join us by adding your financial support?
With many good wishes,
Staff of the Schumacher Center