What would it take to build a world that works for all, and where do we begin?
Join us in Great Barrington, MA on October 24th at 3PM for the 46th Annual E.F. Schumacher Lecture with Jeremy Lent. Lent’s lecture will explore the concepts outlined in his recent book, Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All.
Please note: registration is for in-person attendance only. The lecture will be recorded and shared on our website and newsletter shortly following the event for those who cannot attend in-person.
In Section 3 of Ecocivilization, “Envisioning an Ecocivilization,” Lent explores alternative approaches to land, labor, and capital that communities can help bring into being. From owning businesses together to reinvigorating the commons, and from creating local currencies to stewarding land collectively, these examples offer practical ways to participate in a different economic future.
Chapter 8 — Industry: Structuring Enterprise to Serve the Common Good
Who owns the businesses where we work, and who has a say in their decisions? Lent describes worker cooperatives as a way for people to share ownership, responsibility, and the benefits of their labor. Joining or establishing a cooperative, or supporting worker-owned businesses locally, can help build an economy in which workers participate in shaping their livelihoods.
“In worker cooperatives, most or all of the capital is held by the worker-members. Most co-ops can hire non-member employees, but they are usually given the option to become members themselves by “buying in” with a capital contribution after completing a certain amount of work. Co-ops generally allocate the bulk of their profit to reserves for investing in future operations, while distributing any surplus to their members. Worker-members usually have a meaningful voice in governance by electing directors, staying informed of significant corporate issues, and sometimes voting directly on major strategic decisions.”
Chapter 10 — Wealth: Regaining the Commons for a True “Commonwealth”
Lent asks us to recognize how much of our wealth comes from resources none of us created alone: the living Earth, accumulated knowledge, and the work of previous generations. This perspective invites us to identify what we hold in common and take responsibility for its care. Supporting community stewardship of land, water, or cultural resources is one way to put that understanding into practice.
“In fact, we are all heirs to a vast treasure trove of knowledge, infrastructure, and technology that has been forged collectively by the sweat, enterprise, and genius of generations of ancestors. We are all the rightful beneficial owners of this common legacy.
All human wealth is derived ultimately from the abundance of nature itself: from the air, water, sunlight, minerals, soil, and ecosystems that bestow their riches on humanity. From this natural cornucopia, our ancestors learned to cultivate plants, domesticate animals, and develop frameworks for civilization such as writing, law, calendars, mathematics, and moral codes. The breakthroughs of recent centuries contributed such treasures as electricity, chemistry, physics, modern medicine, and built infrastructures; followed in recent decades by computer processing and the internet.”
Lent also envisions commonwealth trusts whose trustees would be legally responsible for protecting this shared inheritance for its beneficiaries:
“Under this arrangement, there might be a wide array of commonwealth trusts, ranging in geographical scope from bioregional to planetary, and including intangible domains such as cultural heritage and internet data. Beneficiaries would include both current and future generations. Under the principle of intergenerational equity—known as the Hartwick Rule after the economist who first defined it—consumption or distribution of the commonwealth’s resources would only be permissible to the extent that it’s done on a sustainable basis.”
Chapter 11 — Finance: Transforming Money to Work for Us All
Where does our money go after we spend it? Lent highlights local currencies as a tool for strengthening connections among residents, businesses, and producers. Using a community currency—or accepting it at a business—helps keep purchasing power circulating locally. His examples include BerkShares, familiar to many in our home region of the Berkshires and beyond.
“There are now thousands of complementary currencies in use around the world, and their numbers continue to grow rapidly. Even without a demurrage feature, they are frequently successful in increasing the local velocity of money, and their local circulation ensures that funds stay in the community, revitalizing neighborhood businesses rather than being sucked via corporate headquarters into the global financialized economy. Successful examples that have sprouted up worldwide include the Brixton pound in London, BerkShares in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts, and the Bangla-Pesa in a sprawling slum of Mombasa, Kenya, which allows hundreds of small traders—bakers, fruit-sellers, carpenters, and tailors—to keep their community vibrant even when they have barely enough of the official Kenyan shillings to survive.”
Chapter 13 — Infrastructure: Designing Built Systems for Communal Wellbeing
Community land trusts offer residents a way to participate in securing affordable land access for their communities and future generations. Lent explains how shared ownership of land can protect homes from speculative price increases. Becoming involved in a local CLT, contributing to its work, or organizing with neighbors to explore one can help turn land access into an enduring community commitment.
“As financial speculation increases the value of land worldwide, the wealth gap between landowners and renters has become an egregious driver of inequality. An important legal tool to remedy this is a community land trust (CLT): a nonprofit, community-controlled entity that separates land ownership from land use. Residents lease the land from a CLT but own their housing units. The CLT maintains permanent ownership of the land, removing it from the speculative housing market, while residents’ homes can be resold with a maximum level of price appreciation agreed upon in advance with the CLT. This arrangement keeps housing affordable for communities even in frenzied real estate markets. CLTs are usually governed by a combination of residents, members of the surrounding community, and funders, which may be public or nonprofit institutions.”
Join us with Jeremy Lent to explore how these approaches can inform the work of building a more equitable, life-sustaining economy in our own communities.
Warm Wishes,
Staff of the Schumacher Center