Info, news & debate
Economy

Developing local entrepreneurs and keeping out giant corporations: Jay Tompt of the REconomy Project
Today we’re talking with Jay Tompt, of the REconomy Project. This is part of a series of interviews with people who are helping to build a new economy.

The role of the state and the market in building the new economy: interview with Hilary Wainwright of Red Pepper
Today, we’re talking with Hilary Wainwright – an academic, activist, editor of Red Pepper magazine, and a fellow of the Transnational Institute (TNI).

A moneyless trading system for the UK: the Open Credit Network launches website and conducts first trades
Big news as the Open Credit Network launches a website and conducts its first trades, laying the foundations of a moneyless trading system for the UK.

Community-led housing – what’s different about mutual home ownership societies (MHOS): interview with Paul Chatterton of LILAC
We talk with Paul Chatterton of LILAC community in Leeds about what’s different when it comes to mutual home ownership societies in community-led housing.

A ‘Transcender Manifesto’ for a world beyond capitalism
Dil Green shares a Transcender Manifesto for groups to develop networks of transcendent social relations for a world beyond capitalism.

How do we grow the ‘co-operative commonwealth’? Interview with Pat Conaty
We talk about growing a co-operative commonwealth in the second part of an interview with Pat Conaty, senior research fellow at NEF and Co-operatives UK and author of the Resilience Imperative, with Michael Lewis.

The barriers to growing the co-operative economy: Graham Mitchell of CoTech, part 2
In Part 2 of our interview with Graham Mitchell of Co-Tech, we talk about growing the co-operative economy and the barriers we might face.

Free online course: Toward Co-operative Common Wealth MOOC
Calling all activists, practitioners and policy-makers! We share news of a masterclass in movement building in the form of a massive open online course (MOOC) starting on 25th March 2019.

What are ‘the commons’ in the 21st century? Interview with Pat Conaty
We meet Pat Conaty, senior research fellow at NEF and Co-operatives UK and co-author of the Resilience Imperative, to discuss ‘the commons’.

Building a co-operative train line: Alex Lawrie of Go-op
An interview with Alex Lawrie about his attempts to launch Go-op, a co-operative train line linking south west England with the Midlands.

How I hitch-hiked across the Atlantic to visit US co-ops: Cath Muller of Radical Routes
Today I’m talking with Cath Muller of Radical Routes, Cornerstone Housing Co-op and Co-operative Business Consultants. This is part 1 of our conversation, about her visit to Catalan co-operatives, and hitch-hiking across the Atlantic to visit US co-ops.

How do we build a new, non-extractive economy? Dil Green of Lowimpact.org
How can we build a new, non-extractive economy? Dave Darby interviews Lowimpact.org’s Dil Green to find out.

So long, Doris: how to make a Linux computer from scratch
When his old computer died, Simon Lennane knew exactly what to do to get back up and running, by building a Linux computer from scratch.

Why the future of money is mutual credit (and not Bitcoin): Interview with Thomas H Greco Jr.
Today I’m talking with Thomas Greco, who taught economics, finance and statistics for 14 years at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and is now an activist and consultant working on alternatives to the current money system. He also wrote the End of Money and the Future of Civilisation. I came across this book …

UK Mutual Credit Network: register your interest
Working alongside our partners at The Open Co-op, the Open Credit Network, a UK mutual credit network, is starting to win support from organisations like Goodmoney and Finance Lab. Matthew Slater shares how you can get involved.

How the viable system model (VSM) can help build a new economy: Trevor Hilder of Web of Wealth
Dave Darby interviews Trevor Hilder of Web of Wealth, who is a specialist in Stafford Beer’s viable system model (VSM).

Community-supported agriculture vs corporate supermarkets: Maresa Bossano of the UK CSA Network
We interview Maresa Bossano of the UK Community-Supported Agriculture Network to see how CSA measures up against corporate supermarkets.

Co-operativising the tech sector: an interview with Graham Mitchell of Webarchitects & CoTech
We speak to Graham Mitchell of Cotech about the co-operativisation of the tech sector and helping people switch to free and open source software.

What do we do about the coming ecological crash?
So let’s start the year with a bit of optimism. Our last post was about the fact that there is a general lack of understanding of the implications of biodiversity loss, and the contribution of climate change to it. This post is for people who do understand what’s happening to nature, but can see no …

We should be much more worried about an ecological crash than a financial crash
A few years ago, I was having a beer in the bar at King’s Cross narrowboat marina, when someone called Fred asked me what I did. When I said that I worked for an environmental organisation, he came up with a classic line that I’ve quoted many times since.