The Resilience Imperative

by Lewis, Michael; Conaty, Pat

• ISBN13: 9780865717077
• ISBN10: 0865717079
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-06-12
• Publisher: New Society Pub

Summary

We find ourselves between a rock and a hot placecompelled by the intertwined forces of peak oil and climate change to reinvent our economic life at a much more local and regional scale. The Resilience Imperativeargues for a major SEE (social, ecological, economic) change as a prerequisite for replacing the paradigm of limitless economic growth with a more decentralized, cooperative, steady-state economy. The authors present a comprehensive series of strategic questions within the broad areas of: Energy sufficiency Local food systems Interest-free financing Affordable housing and land reform Sustainable community development Each section is complemented by case studies of pioneering community initiatives rounded out by a discussion of transition factors and resilience reflections. With a focus on securing and sustaining change, this provocative book challenges deeply embedded cultural assumptions. Profoundly hopeful and inspiring, The Resilience Imperativeaffirms the possibilities of positive change as it is shaped by individuals, communities, and institutions learning to live within our ecological limits. Michael Lewisis the executive director of the Center for Community Enterprise and is well-known internationally as a practitioner, author, educator, and leader in the field of community economic development. Patrick Conatyis an honorary research fellow at the University of Birmingham and a director of Common Futures. Since 1999 he has worked for the new economics foundation (nef), where he has produced a wide range of publications about predatory lending, financial inclusion, community land trusts, and social venture finance.

Author Biography

Robin Murray, Senior Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics and author of Co-operation in the Age of Google Michael Lewis is the Executive Director of the Canadian Center for Community Renewal. Pat Conaty is a Fellow of the new economics foundation and a research associate of Co-operatives UK.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Resilience: The 21st-Century Imperative	p. 1
Navigating the SEE Change: The Pedagogy of Transition	p. 2
Unprecedented Volatility: A Sign of the Times	p. 3
Progress and Growth: Navigating through the Rearview Mirror	p. 14
Another Way? Five Exit Ramps	p. 18
Navigating the Transition to a Steady-State Economy	p. 35
Wealth versus Commonwealth	p. .39
The Demise of Moral Economy: The Great Transformation	p. 40
Evolution of the Big "M" Market I: The Struggle for Land Reform	p. 44
Evolution of the Big "M" Market II: The Ascendency of the Corporation	p. 49
Evolution of the Big "Mö Market III: Banking Masters and Debtor Slaves	p. 54
The Economics of Sufficiency: Living within the Planetary Commons	p. 66
The 21st Century: A Chapter the Living Must Write	p. 69
A Path beyond Debt: Interest-Free Lending at Work	p. 71
Interest-Free Lending at Work: The JAK Cooperative Bank	p. -.74
Impacts on the Household Economy: The Hartwick Family	p. 80
Transition Factors	p. 82
Resilience Reflections	p. 83
Uniting the "I" and the "We": Affordable Housing in Perpetuity	p. 85
The Community Land Trust Model in the United States	p. 87
Community Land Trusts in Britain: Rekindling Land Reform in the 21st Century	p. 97
The Mutual Homeownership Model: Scaling up Urban Affordability	p. 101
The Household Economy: Land Trust Impacts on Transition	p. 107
Transition Factors	p. 107
Resilience Reflections	p. 109
Seeking Strategic Pathways to Energy Sufficiency	p. 111
YES to Conserving Energy: Yorkshire Energy Services at Work	p. 114
Fossil-Fuel-Free Kristianstad	p. 118
The Impact on the Household and Community Economy	p. 124
Transition Factors	p. 125
Resilience Reflections	p. 125
Seeking Pathways to Sustainable Food	p. 127
Cheap Food and Its Price	p. 128
Seikatsu: "Living People" Transforming their Relationship to Food and Each Other	p. 134
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)	p. 141
Who Will Grow Our Food? The Problem of Succession	p. 142
Solidarity and Succession: Securing Local Food	p. 145
Restoring Salmon: Restoring the Commons in Alaska	p. 148
Impacts on the Household Economy: The Hartwick Family	p. 155
Reweaving Our Economies Close to Home	p. 157
The Core Economic and Social Functions	p. 160
RESO: Transforming Montreal's Poorest Neighborhoods	p. 168
Coastal Enterprises Inc. - Community Development Finance in Rural Maine	p. 175
Transition Factors	p. 180
Resilience Reflections	p. 183
Convivial Banking Innovations: Seeds for Transition	p. 185
Linking Money and Debt Advice to Finance: Community Banking Partnerships	p. 187
US Credit Union Innovations: Federating Solutions	p. 192
Beyond Microcredit: Integrated Approaches that Work	p. 194
Equity Angels Grounded in Community	p. 197
Cooperative Capital in the UK - Withdrawable and Transferable Shares	p. 198
Relationship Banking from a Distance	p. 201
Low-Interest, High-Impact Lending for Vulnerable Homeowners	p. 203
Revolving Loan Funds for Affordable Housing: Risk Pooling	p. 205
Social and Ecological Banks: Investing in the Unconventional	p. 206
Transition Factors	p. 208
Resilience Reflections	p. 211
Federating the Change Agents: Securing the Gains	p. 213
Reinventing the Guilds: A Way Forward?	p. 216
Constructing the Social Solidarity Economy in Quebec	p. 221
Transition Factors	p. 227
Resilience Reflections	p. 229
La Via Campesina: Building a Global Movement for Food Sovereignty	p. 230
Transition Factors	p. 238
Resilience Reflections	p. 239
Federating to Advance Fair-Trade Finance: A Transition Challenge;	p. 240
Economic Democracy and Cooperative Capital	p. 245
Outwitting Enclosure: The Mondragon Formula to Equity	p. 246
Democratizing Social Care in Italy	p. 251
Cooperative Energy Services: Mobilizing Green Economic Actors	p. 257
Transition Factors	p. 260
Resilience Reflections	p. 262
Ownership Transfer: Accelerating Transition	p. 265
Structural Dysfunction of the Global Investment Industry	p. 266
Trusteeship: A Way out of the Enclosure	p. 275
Evolution of the Trusteeship Model: Toward a Framework for Ownership Transfer	p. 283
Transforming Property Rights: A Solution in Search of a Home	p. 289
Establishing a Cooperative Land Bank	p. 293
Implications for Reweaving Local Economies and Navigating Transition	p. 296
Transition Factors	p. 298
Resilience Reflections	p. 298
From Cultural Captivity to Focused Intention	p. 301
Beyond Eden: Our Disconnect from Nature	p. 303
Transition: An Inner and Outer Journey	p. 305
Breaking the Armor of our Cultural Captivity	p. 310
The "Price" of Transition: Are We Willing to Pay Our Way?	p. 314
Weaving the Strands into a Resilient Fabric: Possible?	p. 320
Rescuing Main Street from Wall Street	p. 321
The Crucible of Home: Revisiting Household Economics	p. 325
Epilogue: The Great Transition	p. 331
Notes	p. 342
Bibliography	p. 364
Index	p. 374
About the Authors	p. 389
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