Black Tuesday, A Novel by Nomi Prins

http://www.nomiprins.com/black-tuesday

In this vivid tableau of New York on the cusp of the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, Black Tuesday captures the romance and desperation of one of our most fascinating historical epochs. From the beleaguered immigrant community of the Lower East Side to the feral pit of Wall Street and the alluring glitter of Park Avenue, Nomi Prins reveals a world of fraud, obsession and economic devastation in a turbulent era that shines a revealing light on our current times. Black Tuesday is an epic saga that probes the complex intersections of class, family loyalty, passion, and the terrible consequences of deception, greed and power.
Click here for excerpt.

Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism

Sheldon S. Wolin, born in 1922, is Emeritus Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He taught political theory for 40 years at Oberlin College, the Universities of California, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles, Princeton University, Cornell University, and Oxford University.

Democracy is struggling in America—by now this statement is almost cliché. But what if the country is no longer a democracy at all? In Democracy Incorporated, Sheldon Wolin considers the unthinkable: has America unwittingly morphed into a new and strange kind of political hybrid, one where economic and state powers are conjoined and virtually unbridled? Can the nation check its descent into what the author terms "inverted totalitarianism"? Wolin portrays a country where citizens are politically uninterested and submissive—and where elites are eager to keep them that way. At best the nation has become a "managed democracy" where the public is shepherded, not sovereign. At worst it is a place where corporate power no longer answers to state controls. Wolin makes clear that today's America is in no way morally or politically comparable to totalitarian states like Nazi Germany, yet he warns that unchecked economic power risks verging on total power and has its own unnerving pathologies. Wolin examines the myths and mythmaking that justify today's politics, the quest for an ever-expanding economy, and the perverse attractions of an endless war on terror. He argues passionately that democracy's best hope lies in citizens themselves learning anew to exercise power at the local level. Democracy Incorporated is one of the most worrying diagnoses of America's political ills to emerge in decades. It is sure to be a lightning rod for political debate for years to come.
Source: http://universitypressaudiobooks.com/detail.php/24

Economics Unmasked: From power and greed to compassion and the common good

By Manfred Max-Neef and Philip B. Smith

The economic system under which we live not only forces the great majority of humankind to live their lives in indignity and poverty; it also threatens all forms of life - indeed life itself. Economics Unmasked presents a cogent critique of the dominant economic system in order to help transform our society into one in which all forms of life will be protected.

The first part of this book is devoted to showing that the theoretical constructions that have been selected work mainly to bring about injustice. The second part is concerned with what should be the foundations of a new economics where justice, human dignity, compassion and reverence for life must be the guiding values.

Économie solidaire & monnaie locale

 

Économie solidaire & monnaie locale - 2/5 

http://youtu.be/iL24B9ToWTU

Économie solidaire & monnaie locale - 3/5  

http://youtu.be/MtMMkX8p-yU

 

Économie solidaire & monnaie locale - 4/5

http://youtu.be/tzBXNlJEdHY

Économie solidaire & monnaie locale - 5/5

http://youtu.be/yp5h_PBOQAk

Juillet 2011 Jean-Paul PLA, conseiller municipal délégué à la ville de Toulouse, présente l'économie solidaire et la monnaie complémentaire locale crées pour la cité.

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization

Dr. David Montgomery, professor of geomorphology, University of Washington discusses the problem of global soil degradation and soil erosion and why it is one of the most significant environmental crises that face our species and planet for the next 400 years to come.

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery

Dirt, soil, call it what you want—it's everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, our cities. This fascinating yet disquieting book finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we are—and have long been—using up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. A rich mix of history, archaeology and geology, Dirt traces the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and the American push westward. We see how soil has shaped us and we have shaped soil—as society after society has risen, prospered, and plowed through a natural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.

PAIS - Fase 1 - Escolha do Terreno

 

PAIS - Fase 2 - Preparação do Quintal

http://youtu.be/vTDBdNfvTGI

 

PAIS - Fase 3 - Construção de Galinheiro

http://youtu.be/2YuIkRdJiI0

 

PAIS - Fase 4 - Implantação de Horta

http://youtu.be/DcNp6wBNWlg

 

PAIS - Fase 5 - Instalação de Irrigação

http://youtu.be/H3jglE_X7gY

PAIS - Produção Agroecológica Integrada Sustentável. 

Uma parceria SEBRAE e Fundação Banco do Brasil.

Life After Growth - Economics for Everyone

Directed, Written, Shot, and Edited by Leah Temper and Claudia Medina

IT'S TIME TO RECLAIM THE ECONOMY

The economic crash of 2008 revealed not only the frailty and vulnerability of the economic system, it also showed the false basis that the growth economy is built on – the financial bubble grows bigger and crashes bigger, but we don't seem to be getting any happier. To the contrary, we suffer from greater job insecurity and environmental chaos threatens.

The prescription from the mainstream economists is more growth – but is this just taking more of what ails us?

Has growth become uneconomic?

Is there another way?

This film is part of an ongoing project to document the rise of a new movement – calling not for more economic growth, but LESS. The degrowth movement, or "mouvement por le decroissance", argues that through a voluntary reduction of the economy we can work less, consume less and live better, fuller lives.

Many have been pointing out that our current economic system is leading us to an environmental
and social catastrophe. "Life After Growth" begins to point to the people and communities who are looking for ways out. These are the pioneers who are rethinking the role of economics in our lives, and are engaging in different types of economic activity, right now.

The D word is still taboo in many circles – politicians are loath to go against the growth orthodoxy that our society is based on. But everywhere people are engaging in degrowth type activity - the beginning of a wave that is laying the groundwork for a post-capitalist future...

Because it's not the size of the economy that counts, it's how you use it!

contact: lifeaftergrowth@gmail.com

This film was made with the support of the Fundació Autònoma Solidària,
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

TEDxBloomington - Keith Johnson "Food Security and Resilence"

http://kjpermaculture.blogspot.com

Keith Johnson was raised in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (where he learned at an early age he was related to Johnny Appleseed), and has been a commercial landscaper, stonemason, and organic gardener since 1976 in places as varied as subtropical Bay Area of California, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Michigan, & the mountains of W. North Carolina. After devouring Permaculture One in 1978 he continued to learn all he could on the subject. He's been teaching Permaculture since '95, has instructed more than 700 students, many of those through Indiana University's annual Design Course which began in 2003. He's taught or trained with Bill Mollison, Larry Santoyo, Tom Ward, Penny Livingston, Peter Bane, Chuck Marsh, Starhawk, and Jerome Osentowski.

Now resident in Bloomington, Indiana, Keith participates in a number of local activism projects including the editorial guild of the Permaculture Activist, the founding of Transition Bloomington (Indiana's first Transition Town Initiative), boardmember of the Local Growers Guild, contributor to Bloomington's Peak Oil Task Force, member of the Bloomington Permaculture Guild & member of the Bloomington Food Policy Council. A frequent public speaker and radio interviewee, he works constantly to share a vision of cultural and ecological regeneration and continues to provide ecological design and consultation services via Patterns for Abundance.

Keith's presentation at TEDxBloomington included a remarkable visual presentation of the transformation of the suburban forest garden he co-manages on the 2/3 acre site where he homesteads with Peter Bane and a regular flow of interns.

La doble cara de la moneda

Versión original con subtítulos en español.

La double face de la monnaie

Le pourquoi des monnaies complémentaires dans un monde où l’argent est roi.

L’argent est devenu la valeur centrale de nos sociétés. Comme une drogue, les individus, toujours à sa recherche, craignent d’en manquer. Beaucoup sont prêts à faire n’importe quoi pour s’en procurer. Depuis la fin des années 90, des systèmes d’échanges complémentaires sont mis en place par des citoyens un peu partout dans le monde. La monnaie redevient un outil social, au service de l’homme. Le Chiemgauer allemand, la Banque du temps anglaise et les Systèmes d’Echange Locaux (SEL) français, sont des preuves concrètes que la monnaie peut redevenir un sujet de débat dans la société occidentale.

The Economics of Enough

http://www.thersa.org/events/video

Economist Diane Coyle proposes first steps towards creating a sustainable economy - but can we have enough to be happy without cheating the future?

GROWTH FETISH by CLIVE HAMILTON

At last a coherent new set of ideas for critics of economic rationalism and globalization. Hamilton argues that an obsession with economic growth lies at the heart of our current political, social and environmental ills - and offers a thought-provoking alternative.
'Right on target, and badly needed' Noam Chomsky

'Every now and then a book that is perfect in timing and tone hits my desk. Growth Fetish is that book. It is powerful and potentially transformative.' Rev. Tim Costello

'This book reveals the undelivered reality of economic growth and the hollow mantras of the Third Way. Growth Fetish provides a much needed road map to a new politics in a post-growth world.' Senator Natasha Stott Despoja

For decades our political leaders and opinion makers have touted higher incomes as the way to a better future. Economic growth means better lives for us all.

But after many years of sustained economic growth and increased personal incomes we must confront an awful fact: we aren't any happier. This is the great contradiction of modern politics.

In this provocative new book, Clive Hamilton argues that, far from being the answer to our problems, growth fetishism and the marketing society lie at the heart of our social ills. They have corrupted our social priorities and political structures, and have created a profound sense of alienation among young and old.

Growth Fetish is the first serious attempt at a politics of change for rich countries dominated by the sicknesses of affluence, where the real yearning is not for more money but for authentic identity, and where the future lies in a new relationship with the natural environment.

• Contents
• Download Chapters
• Growth Fetish Reviews

Conferencia Carlos Taibo

Conferencia día 13 de abril en Barcelona

Carlos Taibo - Decrecimiento

http://www.attac.tv/

En esta entrevista Carlos Taibo nos explica qué es el decrecimiento, nacido como crítica al crecimiento ilimitado en un mundo con recursos limitados, y como propuesta de debate social.
El decrecimiento es una corriente de pensamiento político, económico y social favorable a la disminución controlada de la producción económica con el objetivo de establecer una nueva relación de equilibrio entre el ser humano y la naturaleza, pero también entre los propios seres humanos.

Homenaje a Cataluña II

"Homenaje a Catalunya II es un documental, una investigación, una historia de historias sobre la construcción de una economía sostenible, solidaria y descentralizada. Tejiendo redes que superan la individualización y la división jerárquica del trabajo. Miles de personas cada día en todo el mundo. Aquí y ahora."

Sitio web: homenatgeacatalunyaii.org/​es
Licencia: creativecommons.org/​licenses/​by-nc-sa/​3.0/​deed.es

Are we slaves to debt? The history of spending more than we have

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/

The debate over what to do about debt is nothing new, according to anthropologist David Graeber. Alison Stewart talks with Graeber about our misconceptions about debt and why it plays such a large role in history. Need to Know airs Fridays on PBS.