DOCSLIB.ORG

Sacred-Economics-Book-Text.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sacred-Economics-Book-Text.Pdf Sacred Economics 1 CHARLES EISENSTEIN Sacred Economics Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition By Charles Eisenstein Sacred Economics 2 CHARLES EISENSTEIN To my parents and all others who have given me so much with no thought of return Sacred Economics 3 CHARLES EISENSTEIN Table of Contents Table of Contents Sacred Economics..........................................................................................................................1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................5 Part I: The Economics of Separation.....................................................................................................10 Chapter 1: The Gift World.............................................................................................................10 Chapter 2: The Illusion of Scarcity................................................................................................18 Chapter 3: Money and the Mind....................................................................................................25 Chapter 4: The Trouble with Property...........................................................................................34 Chapter 5: The Corpse of the Commons......................................................................................44 Cultural and Spiritual Capital................................................................................................44 The Strip-Mining of Community............................................................................................47 The Creation of Needs.........................................................................................................48 The Money Power................................................................................................................52 Chapter 6: The Economics of Usury.............................................................................................55 An Economic Parable...........................................................................................................56 The Growth Imperative.........................................................................................................58 The Concentration of Wealth................................................................................................60 Wealth Redistribution and Class War...................................................................................64 Inflation.................................................................................................................................67 More for You Is Less for Me.................................................................................................68 Chapter 7: The Crisis of Civilization .............................................................................................71 Chapter 8: The Turning of the Age................................................................................................78 Money: Story and Magic Humanity’s Coming-of-Age Ordeal Part II: The Economics of Reunion........................................................................................................88 Chapter 9: The Story of Value.......................................................................................................88 Chapter 10: The Law of Return.....................................................................................................95 Chapter 11: Currencies of the Commons...................................................................................101 Chapter 12: Negative-Interest Economics..................................................................................108 History and Background.....................................................................................................109 Modern Application and Theory..........................................................................................113 The Debt Crisis: Opportunity for Transition Thinking for the Future........................................................................................................119 More for Me Is More for You...............................................................................................123 Chapter 13: Steady-State and Degrowth Economics.................................................................130 Sustainability Reconsidered...............................................................................................130 Transition to Steady-State: Bump or Crash? .....................................................................131 Shrinking Money, Growing Wealth.....................................................................................136 Disintermediation and the P2P Revolution.........................................................................138 Chapter 14: The Social Dividend................................................................................................140 The Paradox of Leisure......................................................................................................140 The Obsolescence of “Jobs”..............................................................................................142 Sacred Economics 4 CHARLES EISENSTEIN The Will to Work.................................................................................................................145 Who Shall Remove the Garbage?......................................................................................147 Chapter 15: Local and Complementary Currency......................................................................150 The Catch-22 of Local Currency........................................................................................152 Experiments in Local Money..............................................................................................156 Reclaiming the Credit Commons........................................................................................159 Chapter 16: Transition to Gift Economy......................................................................................163 Chapter 17: Summary and Roadmap.........................................................................................168 1. Negative-Interest Currency............................................................................................168 2. Elimination of Economic Rents, and Compensation for Depletion of the Commons.....169 3. Internalization of Social and Environmental Costs.........................................................170 4. Economic and Monetary Localization............................................................................171 5. The Social Dividend........................................................................................................172 6. Economic Degrowth ......................................................................................................172 7. Gift Culture and P2P Economics....................................................................................173 Part III: Living the New Economy........................................................................................................174 Chapter 18: Relearning Gift Culture...........................................................................................175 Chapter 19: Nonaccumulation....................................................................................................182 Chapter 20: Right Livelihood and Sacred Investing...................................................................188 The Dharma of Wealth.......................................................................................................188 Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.................................................................................................190 Old Accumulations to New Purposes.................................................................................194 Right Livelihood..................................................................................................................196 Chapter 21: Working in the Gift...................................................................................................198 Trusting Gratitude...............................................................................................................198 Business in the Gift.............................................................................................................200 The Sacred Professions.....................................................................................................203 Chapter 22: Community and the Unquantifiable.........................................................................206 Chapter 23: A New Materialism...................................................................................................210 Conclusion: The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Tell Us Is Possible......................................214 Appendix: Quantum Money and the Reserve Question.............................................................218 Bibliography................................................................................................................................224 Sacred Economics 5 CHARLES EISENSTEIN Introduction The purpose of this book is to make money and human economy as sacred as everything else in the universe. Today we associate money with the profane, and for good reason. If anything is sacred in this world,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Policy Brief for the State of New Hampshire
    Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research Shop A Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences Roles for the Private Sector in State Parks Systems A Policy Brief for the State of New Hampshire September 21, 2006 PRS Policy Brief 0506-07 Prepared by: Tracey A. Fung, William O’Neal, and Adam H. Sigelman This report was written by undergraduate students at Dartmouth College under the direction of professors in the Rockefeller Center. William O’Neal, a graduate student in the chemistry department, supervised the students and contributed to the preparation of this report. We are also thankful for the services received from the Student Center for Research, Writing, and Information Technology (RWiT) at Dartmouth College. Contact: Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, 6082 Rockefeller Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 http://policyresearch.dartmouth.edu • Email: [email protected] Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research Shop A Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences TABLE OF CONTENTS ROLES FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN STATE PARKS SYSTEMS 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 2 1.1 Privatization by Delegation 2 1.2 Purpose of Privatization 3 1.3 Concerns about Privatization 5 2. ESTABLISHING THE APPROPRIATENESS OF PRIVATIZATION 7 3. POTENTIAL ROLES FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN NH STATE PARKS 9 3.1 Custodial 9 3.2 Retail 9 4. CASE STUDIES 11 4.1 New Hampshire 11 4.2 New York 11 4.3 Kentucky 12 4.4 British Columbia 13 4.5 Georgia 14 4.6 South Dakota 15 4.7 Vermont 15 4.8 Summary 16 5. CONCLUSION 16 1 Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College Policy Research Shop A Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Politics of the Commons
    Published in Renewal magazine, December 17, 2007. Renewal is a Labour-oriented political journal dedicated to social democracy” published in London. A New Politics of the Commons By David Bollier One of the most stubborn problems in confronting the pathologies of the neoliberal political order is the limitations of our language. We do not have an adequate public vocabulary to describe the plunder of globalized markets. We have trouble highlighting the social inequities that are built into conventional economics and political discourse. We do not have a grand narrative with compelling sub-plots to set forth an alternative vision, one that can both stir the blood and show intellectual sophistication. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is a brave, decentralized movement on the march that is addressing these problems with ingenuity and patience. The focus of this movement is the commons. The commons is still an embryonic vision. It will require time to evolve. But it is a vision with great potential, perhaps because it is not being advanced by an intellectual elite or a political party, but by a hardy band of resourceful irregulars on the periphery of conventional politics. (That’s always where the most interesting new things originate.) These commoners are now starting to find each other, a convergence that augurs great things. To be a bit more concrete: This proto-commons movement consists of environmentalists trying to protect wilderness areas and win fair compensation for the corporate use of public lands. It includes local communities trying to prevent multinational water companies from privatizing public water works and converting groundwater into over- priced, branded bottles of water.
    [Show full text]
  • August 2013 Budget As Well As Producing Prayer, Please Write Or Email: Dangerous Fumes
    Friday 30th August Sources: Prayer guide for the care of creation: Londoners Martin Riddiford and Jim “Sacred Economics” by Charles Reeves have devised a gravity- Eisenstein powered lamp to bring light to homes Green Health Watch magazine Prayers in remote parts of the earth. The Positive News about the GravityLight is powered by filling a bag www.edie.net with rocks and sand, and slowly lowering it towards the ground. Gears Environment transfer the weight into energy, If you would like to receive the prayer creating around 30 minutes of light. diary each month by email (free), please for each day of The pair hopes to sell the lights for email prayer-guide@christian- about £3.22 each to serve as an ecology.org.uk alternative to kerosene, which can take up to 20% of a household’s For further information and requests for August 2013 budget as well as producing prayer, please write or email: dangerous fumes. www.deciwatt.org Philip Clarkson Webb, 15 Valley View, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Southborough, Saturday 31st August Tunbridge Wells TN4 0SY (Luke 12.34) Creation Time begins tomorrow and Email: [email protected] “Man did not make the earth, and, though he had lasts until October 4th. It is a time for Website: www.greenchristian.org.uk prayer and action for all the churches. a natural right to occupy it, he had no right to locate as his Resources are available from Picture on front cover: Gate by Judith property in perpetuity any part of it; neither did the Creator Churches Together in Britain & Ireland Allinson (www.ctbi.org.uk ).
    [Show full text]
  • Uila Supported Apps
    Uila Supported Applications and Protocols updated Oct 2020 Application/Protocol Name Full Description 01net.com 01net website, a French high-tech news site. 050 plus is a Japanese embedded smartphone application dedicated to 050 plus audio-conferencing. 0zz0.com 0zz0 is an online solution to store, send and share files 10050.net China Railcom group web portal. This protocol plug-in classifies the http traffic to the host 10086.cn. It also 10086.cn classifies the ssl traffic to the Common Name 10086.cn. 104.com Web site dedicated to job research. 1111.com.tw Website dedicated to job research in Taiwan. 114la.com Chinese web portal operated by YLMF Computer Technology Co. Chinese cloud storing system of the 115 website. It is operated by YLMF 115.com Computer Technology Co. 118114.cn Chinese booking and reservation portal. 11st.co.kr Korean shopping website 11st. It is operated by SK Planet Co. 1337x.org Bittorrent tracker search engine 139mail 139mail is a chinese webmail powered by China Mobile. 15min.lt Lithuanian news portal Chinese web portal 163. It is operated by NetEase, a company which 163.com pioneered the development of Internet in China. 17173.com Website distributing Chinese games. 17u.com Chinese online travel booking website. 20 minutes is a free, daily newspaper available in France, Spain and 20minutes Switzerland. This plugin classifies websites. 24h.com.vn Vietnamese news portal 24ora.com Aruban news portal 24sata.hr Croatian news portal 24SevenOffice 24SevenOffice is a web-based Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. 24ur.com Slovenian news portal 2ch.net Japanese adult videos web site 2Shared 2shared is an online space for sharing and storage.
    [Show full text]
  • Peer-To-Peer Software and Use of NRC Computers to Process SUNSI Frequently Asked Questions
    Peer-to-Peer Software and Use of NRC Computers to Process SUNSI Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is peer-to-peer software? Peer-to-peer, or P2P, file-sharing systems provide users with the ability to share files on their computers with other people through the Internet. The most popular P2P software is free and is used to share music, movies, and games, and for Instant Messaging. 2. Why is P2P a problem? P2P software provides the capability for users to access files on other users’ computers beyond those intended for sharing (i.e., music). For example, if you have P2P software on your computer and you also do your own tax preparation on your computer and store a copy of the tax return on your hard drive, other people anywhere in the world may be able to access the files containing your tax return. 3. Have sensitive government files been obtained through the use of P2P? Yes. There are documented incidents where P2P software was used to obtain sensitive government information when peer-to-peer software was installed on a government or home computer. 4. Is someone obtaining sensitive information the only threat? No. P2P can also make it easier for computer viruses and other malicious software to be installed on your computer without your knowledge. 5. Have other Federal agencies adopted similar policies? Yes, other Federal agencies have adopted similar policies. The Office of Management and Budget wrote the requirements for government-wide adoption in 2004. Additionally, due to the increased awareness of the P2P threat that has arisen since 2004, DOT, DHS, DOE, DOD, and other agencies have issued specific P2P policies.
    [Show full text]
  • HUMS 4904A Schedule Mondays 11:35 - 2:25 [Each Session Is in Two Halves: a and B]
    CARLETON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE HUMANITIES Humanities 4904 A (Winter 2011) Mahatma Gandhi Across Cultures Mondays 11:35-2:25 Prof. Noel Salmond Paterson Hall 2A46 Paterson Hall 2A38 520-2600 ext. 8162 [email protected] Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00 - 4:00 (Or by appointment) This seminar is a critical examination of the life and thought of one of the pivotal and iconic figures of the twentieth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – better known as the Mahatma, the great soul. Gandhi is a bridge figure across cultures in that his thought and action were inspired by both Indian and Western traditions. And, of course, in that his influence has spread across the globe. He was shaped by his upbringing in Gujarat India and the influences of Hindu and Jain piety. He identified as a Sanatani Hindu. Yet he was also influenced by Western thought: the New Testament, Henry David Thoreau, John Ruskin, Count Leo Tolstoy. We will read these authors: Thoreau, On Civil Disobedience; Ruskin, Unto This Last; Tolstoy, A Letter to a Hindu and The Kingdom of God is Within You. We will read Gandhi’s autobiography, My Experiments with Truth, and a variety of texts from his Collected Works covering the social, political, and religious dimensions of his struggle for a free India and an India of social justice. We will read selections from his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, the book that was his daily inspiration and that also, ironically, was the inspiration of his assassin. We will encounter Gandhi’s clash over communal politics and caste with another architect of modern India – Bimrao Ambedkar, author of the constitution, Buddhist convert, and leader of the “untouchable” community.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Indian Property Rights
    Property rights, selective enforcement, and the destruction of wealth on Indian lands Ilia Murtazashvili* University of Pittsburgh Abstract This paper reconceptualizes the nature of property institutions in the United States. Conventional economic analysis suggests that the U.S. established private property rights protection as a public good by the end of the nineteenth century. The experience of Indians suggests otherwise. During the mid-nineteenth century, the economic fortunes of settlers on public lands owned by the United States government and Indians diverged. Settlers secured legal property rights and self-governance, while members of Indian nations were forced into an inequitable property system in which the federal government established an institutionalized system to discriminate against reservation Indians. The property system is most appropriately described as a selective enforcement regime in which some groups enjoy credible and effective property rights at the expense of others who confront a predatory state and institutionalized property insecurity. The persistence of the selective enforcement regime explains the persistence of poverty among reservation Indians. * Email: [email protected]. Paper prepared for the Searle Workshop on “Indigenous Capital, Growth, and Property Rights: The Legacy of Colonialism,” Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Many thanks to Terry Anderson and Nick Parker for organizing the workshop. 1 2 Introduction The United States is often used as an example to illustrate the beneficial consequences of private property rights for economic growth and development. Sokoloff and Engerman (2000) use differences in land policy to explain the reversal of economic fortunes of the U.S. and Spanish America, which started with a similar per capita GDP around 1800 but diverged substantially by the twentieth century.
    [Show full text]
  • An Intentional Neurodiverse and Intergenerational Cohousing Community
    An Intentional Neurodiverse and Intergenerational Cohousing Community Empowered by Autistic Voices Documented by: ASU team Contact: 612-396-7422 or [email protected] Meeting Agenda Project overview and updates (3-4:30PM) • Overview • Questions from audience • Fill out interest survey • Sign up for volunteer committees Working session (4:45-5:45PM) • Introductions – meet others interested in this community • Visioning exercise • Deeper dive into floor plans and financing • Discuss interest in long term commitments to the project and how to pool funds for land acquisition • Sign up for volunteer committees 2 About ASU ASU (Autism SIBS Universe) is a non-profit organization - 501c3 registered with IRS in 2018 founded by Autistics - support from peers, parents and community members Vision is to create sustainable neurodiverse communities where people with all types of abilities live together to support each other ASU Board members Mix of Autistics, parents and community members 3 Important When are a Neurodiverse community and we welcome people of all abilities We are an intentional community designed with Autistics in mind, but we are NOT an Autism or Disability only housing A community where there is something for everyone Naturally supported safe, trusted and sustainable living for ALL – Independent homes with easy access to COMMUNITY, less isolation, connected relationships, more fun, Healthier and more long term supports For families without Autism For Autistics and their - A GREAT opportunity to families – A safety net for live in a sustainable their children’s future. environment while Better support dealing supporting a neurodiverse with Autism and related community and vice versa challenges. More respite.
    [Show full text]
  • ARK​ ​​Whitepaper
    ARK Whitepaper ​ ​​ A Platform for Consumer Adoption ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ v.1.0.3 The ARK Crew ARK Whitepaper v.1.0.3 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Table Of Contents ​ ​ ​ ​ Overview………………………………………………………………...……………………………….……………….………………………………………………………….….3 ​ Purpose of this Whitepaper………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….……….3 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Why?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………….…………..4 ​ ​ ARK…………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………….…………………………………………………………………..5 ​ ​ ARK IS………………………………………………………………………………………………....……………….………………………………………………………………..5 ​ ​ ​ ​ ARK: Technical Details……………………………………….…….…..…………………………...……………….………………...…………………………...6 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ - Delegated Proof of Stake…………………………….……………...………………………….……………………………………….………...…...6 ​ ​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ - Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) Wallets ​ ​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (BIP32)…………………………………………………….....…………………..…..8 ​ - Fees……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………….…...………………………………..……...8 ​ ​​ ​ - ARK Delegates and Delegate Voting.…………………………………………………………………………………...………………….9 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ - Bridged Blockchains (SmartBridges)....................………………………………………………………………….………...…….10 ​ ​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ - POST ARK-TEC Token Distribution …………………..…………………………………….………………….………..……..…..……….11 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ - Testnet Release……………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………….………...….....12 ​ ​ ​ And Beyond?…………………………………………………………………….………...……………………………………….………………………...……….…12 ​ ​ ​ ​ Addendum 1: ARK IS…(Cont.)...……..……..…………....…..………...………………………………………...………………………......……12
    [Show full text]
  • Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic © 1983 and 2006 by Scott Cunningham
    About the Author Scott Cunningham was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on June 27, 1956. He learned about Wicca while still in high school and practiced elemental magic for twenty years. He experienced, researched, then wrote about what he learned in his magical training. Scott is credited with writing more than thirty books (both fiction and nonfiction). He passed from this incarnation on March 28, 1993, but his work and his words live on. Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota Copyright Information Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic © 1983 and 2006 by Scott Cunningham. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non- exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means. Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law. First e-book edition © 2013 E-book ISBN: 9780738716657 Revised Edition Sixth Printing, 2012 First edition, thirty-two printings Book design and layout by Joanna Willis Cover design by Kevin R. Brown Cover illustration © by Fiona King Interior illustrations by Llewellyn art department Revised edition editing by Kimberly Nightingale Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
    [Show full text]
  • Deserving, Gifting, and Needs
    Deserving, Gifting, and Needs MIKI KASHTAN L’auteur s’interroge sur les « besoins » et les « mérites « dans able to set aside the time to nurture their friendship with le contexte du don. Son but est de poser toute la notion du him, and they would need to see him less. The shift from mérite et de proposer un cadre bas é sur le bon vouloir afin exchange back to relationship, now expanded to include d’assurer le transit des ressources mondiales. Elle suggère everyone’s needs, allowed those friendships to continue des exemples ordinaires d’économie historique avant d’as- uninterrupted, involving the entire family, some of them surer que c’est le glissement vers l’agriculture qui a motivé lasting through and beyond his childhood. l’accumulation et la possession des ressources plutôt que We all know what he knew then: there is nothing sweeter sur leur circulation. Ce geste vers une nouvelle structure than giving and receiving within the context of human économique a développé des récits à propos de qui méritait relationships based on a flow of generosity and care. We et qui ne méritait pas selon la loi divine ou la moralité pour all were once babies, and almost all of us were given to justifier les inégalités inhérentes; une discussion autour du simply because we had a need, as Genevieve Vaughan has don comme économie alternative qui n’est pas attachée la been calling to our attention for so many years. valeur mais plutôt aux besoins et aux soins. Elle termine At the same time, even those of us who have not been sur une image d’un monde futur qui serait basé sur le soin mothers and caregivers for the young, have no doubt had et la collaboration plutôt que sur la raison.
    [Show full text]
  • Markets Not Capitalism Explores the Gap Between Radically Freed Markets and the Capitalist-Controlled Markets That Prevail Today
    individualist anarchism against bosses, inequality, corporate power, and structural poverty Edited by Gary Chartier & Charles W. Johnson Individualist anarchists believe in mutual exchange, not economic privilege. They believe in freed markets, not capitalism. They defend a distinctive response to the challenges of ending global capitalism and achieving social justice: eliminate the political privileges that prop up capitalists. Massive concentrations of wealth, rigid economic hierarchies, and unsustainable modes of production are not the results of the market form, but of markets deformed and rigged by a network of state-secured controls and privileges to the business class. Markets Not Capitalism explores the gap between radically freed markets and the capitalist-controlled markets that prevail today. It explains how liberating market exchange from state capitalist privilege can abolish structural poverty, help working people take control over the conditions of their labor, and redistribute wealth and social power. Featuring discussions of socialism, capitalism, markets, ownership, labor struggle, grassroots privatization, intellectual property, health care, racism, sexism, and environmental issues, this unique collection brings together classic essays by Cleyre, and such contemporary innovators as Kevin Carson and Roderick Long. It introduces an eye-opening approach to radical social thought, rooted equally in libertarian socialism and market anarchism. “We on the left need a good shake to get us thinking, and these arguments for market anarchism do the job in lively and thoughtful fashion.” – Alexander Cockburn, editor and publisher, Counterpunch “Anarchy is not chaos; nor is it violence. This rich and provocative gathering of essays by anarchists past and present imagines society unburdened by state, markets un-warped by capitalism.
    [Show full text]