For those of you interested in the earlier discussion about what on earth
could possibly replace capitalism, I share the following, without an
endorsement or advocacy.
Best wishes,
D.B. Johnson
--- begin forwarded text
From: David Banner <dbanner@mwt.net>
To: "'ecomda@danenet.wicip.org'" <ecomda@danenet.wicip.org>
Subject: The Festival in Associative Economics
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 18:18:56 -0500
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Sender: owner-users@danenet.wicip.org
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Dear listserve folks:
I felt that a number of you would want to know about what is
happening in your own "backyard"(Viroqua) , and that many of you might want
to attend. This is VERY exciting stuff; a really new paradigm of economics
that combines the efficiency and accountability of the free enterprise
system with the heart of socialism (without the toxic byproducts of
either!) Sound too good to be true?Come check it out!!!!!! Dr. David K.
Banner, Co-ordinator, Festival of Economics
ANNOUNCING:
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"A Festival of Economics"
And the Creation of the Midwest Center for Associative
Economics
October 5-11, 1998 in Viroqua ,Wisconsin
at the Landmark Center , second floor Conference Room
(next to Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School, 500 E. Jefferson St., Viroqua, WI
54665)
Background
It seems to be part of the conventional wisdom now that capitalism has "won"
the economic wars on the planet with socialism and communism in full retreat.
Only the island of Cuba and North Korea with their ailing economies can still
claim to be communist. Socialism, with its flaws of dependency, government
bungling and inefficiency laid bare, has lost the ideological high ground. And
capitalism's vaunted "free market" is being lauded as the solution to man's
ills.
What is wrong with this picture? Increasingly, scholars and practitioners
alike are seeing that the market cannot correct problems it has created,
namely problems of the increasing gap between the rich and the poor on the
planet and the problem of resource depletion/environmental collapse. Today,
450 individuals (billionaires!) control more wealth among themselves than the
other 6 billion inhabitants on the planet; far from ameliorating the gap,
capitalism has increased it. And, perhaps more ominously, capitalism and the
materialism/consumptive cycle it depends upon for growth, is threatening to
deplete the planet of resources and despoil its environment irrevocably.
Rudolf Steiner, the prescient Austrian innovator at the turn of the century
(from whom has emerged Waldorf education, biodynamic farming methods,
anthroposophical medicine and other alternative approaches) formulated a
concept of ideal societal relationships, which he called the "threefold
order." Simply put, Steiner felt that the three major sectors of society
needed to operate in the following way: (1) the cultural realm(education, the
arts, philosophy,etc.) needed to be completely free from influence from the
other major sectors in order to promote free thinking individuals (CULTURAL
FREEDOM); (2) the economic realm should concentrate on producing goods and
services for the common good with an emphasis on mutuality and collaboration
(ECONOMIC MUTUALITY); and (3) the political realm should operate such that
everyone has equal access and opportunity to influence decisions (POLITICAL
EQUALITY). This threefolded notion has never been tested nationwide as Steiner
died in 1925 and his disciples never realized his vision. Renewed interest is
arising concerning this model, as it promises to combine the individual
initiative, accountability and entrepreneurship of capitalism with the
compassion and heart of socialism, without the dysfunctional byproducts of
either.
Together with colleagues, Christopher Houghton Budd, an international
economist living in England, is developing an economic paradigm called
"associative economics", drawn from a wide range of sources, and incorporating
in particular Steiner's indications about the nature of purpose of modern
economic life. A number of working prototypes are being developed in several
countries around the world (Brazil, Switzerland, France) and we propose to
bring the work to the Midwest.
How Associative Economics works in practice
A group comes together using associative principles or economic mutuality as
their guiding values. This group begins to buy existing businesses or create
new ones with the express aim of collaborating to produce synergy together and
to share resources for achieving optimum economic growth with sustainability
and a "win-win" philosophy. Within each business, there are frequent
conversations about goals, values, and sharing of information, as well as
accountability and financial rigor. In fact, the model relies on each business
(and each sector within a business) setting financial goals and reviewing
their performance vis a vis those goals on a regular basis. There are monthly
meetings of the managers of each business with an eye towards satisfying major
stakeholders of each business: (1) the employees need to feel "psychological
ownership" of the enterprise, a sense of responsibility and a fair wage for
their work; (2) the customers need to feel they are getting value and good
service for their dollar spent; and (3) the investors need to feel good about
their return, both financially and psychically. After these constituencies
have been satisfied, the excess net income from operations is used to support
the cultural realm with no strings attached, thus preserving the cultural
freedom referred to earlier.
There will be a week-long Festival of Associative Economics (5-11 October 1998)
.Oct. 5-8 will be the Third Annual U.S Practitioner's Meeting with
an emphasis on practical projects already underway and help for those who
wish to start(primarily in the Viroqua area)
.Oct. 9-11 will be an "Introduction to Associative Economics" for
beginners (called "Beyond the Market", it will be primarily
lecture/discussion format and is suitable for folks from all areas)
The third event will be the official launching of the Midwest Center for
Associative Economics in Viroqua.
Festival
The Festival proposal is to bring Christopher Houghton Budd to Viroqua (along
with three colleagues, Tamara Slayton of Sebastopol, CA and Anita Grandjean
and Marc Desaules of Switzerland) to provide a week-long set of events:
- the 3rd US Practitioners' Meeting (5-8) - features of which will be to
continue work on prefinanced education and to consider the possibilities for
implementing associative economics in the Viroqua area (and the exploration
of the feasibility of other areas)
- a preliminary showing of the "New Economy Images" exhibition (5-11), a
project aimed at enlivening 'the dismal science' by images
- a weekend open (beginners') workshop entitled "Beyond the Market" (9-11)
Center
The second major event is to establish a Center for Associative
Economics and to begin the process for getting funding for businesses,
creating administrative arrangements for overseeing the process, and designing
evaluatory mechanisms for assessing our progress.
Why Viroqua?
Viroqua, is a small town of 4,000 in southwestern Wisconsin. We have a
thriving Waldorf school here (formed in 1979, we have 8 grades and 190
students, with the enviable distinction of having a balanced budget for 17 of
our eighteen years of existence!) and a two year old Waldorf high school
initiative. Our community is very interested in exploring alternatives to
mainstream ideas of agriculture, economics, health care and politics. We have
lots of citizen participation in our local government, several biodynamic and
organic farms in the area, and myriad alternative health practitioners
locally, i.e., chiropractors, acupuncturists, Reiki, massage, zone therapy,
energy healers and others. The area is very supportive of new thinking and
that is why we intend to launch an associative economics project here in
Viroqua, with an emphasis on citizen empowerment, sustainability and community
development.
We expect there to be widespread interest in this work. For example, there are
four Chicago-area Waldorf schools, two in Minneapolis, and two in Milwaukee,
all within 4 hours driving distance from Viroqua. In addition, there are
several biodynamic farms in the area as well as a biodynamic center three
hours away. These groups are a natural constituency for this work. We have
already assembled a core team of 12 people here who are committed to bringing
this work to our area, and we will handle the logistics for the project, as
well as launching the new Center. Please come join us in this important
work!!!!!
For more information, call David Banner at 608-637-2451 or email at
dbanner@mwt.net
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Registration Form-send to David Banner, 424 E. Terhune St., Viroqua, WI 54665
Name______________________ Address_________________________________
Phone #____________________ Email _________________
Check One (or both)
. 3rd U.S. Practitioners Meeting (Oct. 5-8) $300.00 (deposit,
non-refundable $75)______
. Weekend workshop for beginners in AE (Oct. 9-11) $125.00
(deposit-$50)__________
Do you need accomodations?_______ In PRWS school family home?___In motel?_____
Dietary requirements?______________Need scholarship aid?____How much?_____
(Limited scholarships available) Willing to volunteer with
logistics?___________
MOTELS and B&B's:(feel free to make your own reservations,sooner rather
than later because we expect them to fill up):
VIROQUA
(1) Eckhardt House Bed and Breakfast ( 3 blocks from Landmark)**
217 E. Jefferson St.
Viroqua, WI 54665
608-637-8644
(2) Viroqua Heritage Inn Bed and Breakfast ( 3 blocks from Landmark)**
220. E. Jefferson St.
Viroqua, WI 54665
608-637-3306
**both highly recommended; owner is on our Associative Economics team!
(3) Midway Motel (approx. 1 mile from Landmark)
850 N. Main St.
Viroqua, WI 54665
608-637-2929
(4) Hickory Hill Motel (approx. 2 1/2 miles from Landmark)
Hwy 14 and 61
Viroqua, WI 54665
608-637-3104
(5) Super 8 Motel (national chain) (approx. 2 1/2 m iles from Landmark)
Hwy 14 and 61
Viroqua, WI 54665
608-637-3100
WESTBY
(1) Old Towne Motel (approx. 7 miles from Landmark)
Hwy 14, 61 and 27
Westby, WI
608-634-2111
(2) Central Express Inn (approx. 7 1/2 miles from Landmark)
Hwy 14 and 27
Westby, WI
608-634-2950
--- end forwarded text
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