Book of the Month:

Occupy World Street: A Global Roadmap for Radical  Economic and Political Reform.  Ross Jackson (Copenhagen, Denmark).  Foreword by Hazel Henderson. White River Junction VT: Chelsea Green, March 2012, 315p, $19.95 pb.  (Full Review)

An ambitious and original book that is the polar opposite of the techno-ecstatic vision in Abundance (GFB Book of the Month, Aug 2012).  Jackson has a background in operations research and was founder of an international hedge fund dealing with currency trading.  He asserts that the current global structure is dysfunctional, undemocratic, and corrupt, with billions of citizens crying out for change, which will not happen under present institutions.  The roots of the current "political/economic logjam" are examined, with chapters describing the assault on nature, the coming peak in global oil production, the global collapse of civilization due to increased complexity, the evolution of questionable economic beliefs, the neoliberal ideology for organizing global economic relationships, the recent financial crisis, and growing inequality in wealth and power that supports the "corporatocracy."

A shift in values is underway, however, toward a sustainable and far more desirable civilization based on a new worldview of Gaian values, especially Gaian Economics, a.k.a. ecological economics, that values natural capital and manages consumption and natural resources (see Chap 11 and FEATURE OF THE MONTH, below).  To realize the vision of a sustainable and just future that works for everyone, eight institutions must be founded by a "Gaian League" of member nations: The Gaian Trade Organization, The Gaian Clearing Union, The Gaian Development Bank, The Gaian Congress, The Gaian Commission to administer Gaian institutions, The Gaian Court of Justice, The Gaian Resource Board, and The Gaian Council of wise elders.  A "breakaway strategy" for getting there is also articulated, involving a handful of small nations from the top and the grass roots of the world from the bottom.

New and appropriate economic thinking is central to Jackson's thoughtful and provocative vision, as explored in some detail by the GFB Feature of the Month, which provides extensive background, including many economists cited by Jackson. 

New and Appropriate Economics 

 GENERAL CRITIQUES

A New and Appropriate Economics 

SCIENTIFIC AND GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS

One important indicator that the above critiques are being accepted, or simply discovered anew, can be found in adaptation of these ideas by large and influential organizations. (This section can probably be considerably expanded, but a few items suggest what is happening). *Beyond the Market: Designing Nonmarket Accounts for the United States by the National Research Council (National Academies Press, 2005/209p) states that the National Income and Product Accounts constructed for the US in the 1930s omit a large part of the nation's product; high priority should be given to five areas: household production, investments in human capital and formal education, investments in health, government and non-profit sectors providing public goods and services (notably with volunteer labor), and environmental assets and services (value changes in stocks of natural resource and externalities associated with pollution).   The World Bank takes an equally radical step forward with *The Changing Wealth of Nations: Lessons for Sustainable Development(World Bank, Oct 2010/270p), which estimates "comprehensive wealth" (including produced, natural, and human/institutional assets) for over 100 countries in 1995, 2000, and 2005.

Click here for the full section.

The above-mentioned textbooks promote "contextual economics" and "ecological economics." A possible problem in evolution to new and appropriate economics is the profusion of labels. Some examples follow. Post Keynesian and Ecological Economics: Confronting Environmental Issues edited by Richard P.F. Holt of Southern Oregon U et al. (Edward Elgar, Jan 2010/296p) argues that mainstream economics is limited in its ability to analyze and fashion adequate policy and proposes a transdisciplinary approach that focuses on complexity, bounded rationality, and socio-economic dynamics. *In Defense of Post-Keynesian and Heterodox Economics: Responses to their Critics edited by Frederic S. Lee of UMKC (see APPENDIX #3) and Marc Lavoie of U of Ottawa (Routledge, Aug 2012/256p) discusses inter-paradigm cooperation, theoretical convergence, brands of economics, the Trojan Horse of pluralism, and how to move forward. A Primer on Heterodox Economics by Ingrid Rima of Temple U (Routledge, July 2012/256p) charts the development of various schools of thought such as post-autistic economics, evolutionary institutionalism, post-Keynesian economics, German-Austrian economics, and revival of political economy.

New and Appropriate Economics
WHAT IS REALLY NEEDED

The complaint that we need more good ideas is seriously incomplete and misleading.  As amply illustrated above, there are plenty of sensible and thoughtful ideas about new and appropriate economics, as well as other important global issues.   This plethora of constructive thinking includes both recently published books (not to mention articles) as well as those published two to three decades ago.  Do economists and policymakers know of these books?  Read these books?  And substantially change their thinking as a result?  One cannot help but sense that there is something very wrong.  Surely, yet another book, article, or journal is not what is needed.  Rather, what is really needed are actions in seven areas, none of which is sufficient on its own. Recommendations include:

Ten Organizations Promoting New Economics

APPENDIX