December 18, 2018
Above is Greg Watson’s wonderful drawing of the “big room” upstairs at the Schumacher Center’s Library. Strolling through, Bob Swann is smiling to see all the eager young researchers in the building that he designed and constructed. Jane Jacobs, wearing her iconic glasses, is mentoring a young community economist just as she mentored our own … Continued
December 7, 2018
Since 1981 the Schumacher Center has envisioned, organized, and conducted its Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures program, inviting speakers from around the globe to share their stories and their view of the world as it could and should be. Together they are responsible for the creation of multiple organizations, initiatives, and publications that are addressing … Continued
December 4, 2018
Below is Greg Watson’s latest piece on offshore wind power and the opportunity of diversifying wealth in its production. We are pleased to share it to you. Best wishes, Schumacher Center Staff “Wealth is the technological ability to protect, nurture and support the needs of life.” -Buckminster Fuller, “Buckminster Fuller Talks Politics” by Lightning … Continued
October 30, 2018
“A culture is not a collection of relics or ornaments, but a practical necessity, and its corruption invokes calamity. A healthy culture is a communal order of memory, insight, value, work, conviviality, reverence, aspiration. It reveals the human necessities and the human limits. It clarifies our inescapable bonds to the earth and to each other. It … Continued
October 10, 2018
On September 29th, David Bollier—the Schumacher Center’s Reinventing the Commons Program Director—delivered a talk at The Land Institute’s annual Prairie Festival in Salina, Kansas, titled “The Insurgent Power of the Commons in the War Against the Imagination.” Following are excerpts from this talk. The whole talk may be read on our website or viewed on Youtube. We … Continued
September 26, 2018
W. E. B. Du Bois—civil rights activist, scholar, and co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)—drafted a letter in February of 1961 petitioning the newly appointed President John F. Kennedy to change the policies of state and federal governments in order to end the barriers to equality for black citizens. … Continued
August 29, 2018
It takes an island, or a borough, or a County, or a shire to gather and hold land for community benefit. In an economy that is both just and sustainable, land would not be treated as a commodity that is bought and sold on the market to the highest bidder. Private control of limited natural … Continued
August 16, 2018
Today is the 107th anniversary of Ernst Friedrich Schumacher’s birth. We are celebrating with the launch of a newly designed website, packed with the fruits of 38 years of programming. You will find all of our past content grouped into three sections reflecting our mission: to envision the elements of a just and sustainable global economy; to apply these elements locally, … Continued
July 24, 2018
We are pleased to announce the 38th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures with speakers Leah Penniman and Ed Whitfield. The theme of this year’s event is “Towards a New Reconstruction: Land, Racism, and Economic Emancipation.” The talks will take place on Saturday, October 27th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. … Continued
June 29, 2018
Last month David Bollier delivered a talk at the conference “Searching for a New Luxury” in Arnhem, Netherlands. The conference focused on the dark underside of the fashion and garment industries: underpaid and abused labor, prodigious amounts of waste, hyper-commercialism at the expense of craft and design, odious marketing strategies. But it also explored the … Continued
May 11, 2018
The following article by Aaron Fernando was originally published in STIR, Issue 21, Spring 2018, a quarterly magazine of new economics in the UK. It is reprinted with STIR’s generous permission. You can order a copy here. Aaron, a former colleague, identifies the thread that weaves through the multiple programs of the Schumacher Center. We are pleased … Continued
April 26, 2018
The industrial cooperatives in Mondragón, Spain are well-known in economic development circles for their sophisticated organizational structure. All workers are owners. No member receives more than eight times the earnings of the lowest wage, thereby distributing wealth in an equitable way.