February 21, 2008
In April of 1981 the Schumacher Center convened a conference called “Community Survival in the Age of Inflation.” Schumacher Center President Robert Swann addressed the conference on the theme “The Place of a Local Currency in a World Economy: Towards an Economy of Permanence.” In his talk he laid out the steps for implementing a … Continued
February 6, 2008
Many of us are eating locally and organically produced food. From a modern economic perspective, where price is often the paramount consideration, these choices seem illogical. What accounts for this shift, and does it have the possibility of expanding to all of our economic decisions? At the end of his 1966 essay “Buddhist Economics,” economist … Continued
January 1, 2008
It has been fifty years since Fritz Schumacher first published his now classic essay “Buddhist Economics,” calling for an economic system informed by simplicity and non-violence. . . . the Buddhist economist would insist that a population basing its economic life on non-renewable fuels is living parasitically, on capital instead of income. Such a way … Continued
January 1, 2008
January 13th is the fifth anniversary of Robert Swann’s death. Bob was the President of the Schumacher Center from its founding in 1980 until his passing. His enthusiasm and skills shaped the organization. The following essay was written in early 2003 in tribute to Bob. It wonderfully anticipates the BerkShares local currency program. We resend … Continued
January 1, 2008
Building sustainable local economies requires combining a number of new institutions. In Small is Beautiful E. F. Schumacher called for a plethora of diverse small-scale businesses, workers who own and manage the means of production, the use of appropriate technology, affordable access to land, cultural renewal, organic farming practices, ecological restoration, energy conservation, and renewable … Continued
December 2, 2007
Gathered over a period of twenty-seven years, the collected Annual E. F. Schumacher lecture pamphlets represent some of the finest thinking about creating a sustainable future. Each was delivered as a lone testament to one person’s vision, viewed together they offer an integrated picture of hope and possibility for people, land, and communities. It was … Continued
December 1, 2007
In an era when the activities of the global economy seem to run rampant undirected by conscious purpose, when the ecological and human consequences of these activities numb our sensibilities as concerned citizens of the Earth, we seek the elements of a sustainable economy—an economy of permanence in Fritz Schumacher’s language. How in a new … Continued
November 4, 2007
At a time when national currencies are proving vulnerable to ill-considered government policies and fluctuations in the global economy, how can regions establish some degree of economic sovereignty? Local currencies provide a tool for local economic stability in otherwise unstable economic times. In its early stages BerkShares, a local currency issued in the Berkshire region … Continued
November 3, 2007
Economist Fritz Schumacher called for a system of vibrant local economies in which the goods consumed in a region are produced in the region. He argued that when production is local there is a better chance of knowing the ecological and human story of the production process: what natural resources are used in manufacturing; are … Continued
November 2, 2007
One of our favorite books is Why the Village Movement by Gandhian philosopher and economist J. C. Kumarappa. We turn to it again and again to be reminded of core principles for keeping economic transactions local. Kumarappa’s works are now out of print, but we are lucky to have copies here at the Schumacher Center … Continued
October 3, 2007
Revitalizing urban communities requires developing a local economy that utilizes the skills of its residents. This means casting off an economic model that masks the talents and creativity of individuals by exploiting workers, endangering public health, and consuming open space. Often the most threatened are communities of color that have suffered economic collapse or the … Continued
October 2, 2007
In his 2002 talk for the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires Michael Shuman stated that this century will “determine who wins the fundamental struggle between cheap goods and place, between the protection of private bottom lines and the protection of families, communities, and the environment.” Concerns over global distribution, rising energy costs, and … Continued