by John Jopling. This book explores the possibility that the concept of the Commons provides us with the model we need to build just and sustainable human societies in place of the currently dominant unjust and unsustainable economic/political system. It is certainly a ‘must read’, indeed, if you can afford it, a ‘must have’, so you can take in the wealth of information and ideas at your own pace, going back to re-study at your leisure.

by Phoebe Bright. I recently had the privilege and pleasure of accepting a Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of Mary Douthwaite for her husband Richard, who passed away last year. Richard was a good friend and having the opportunity to talk about him and remember his energy and enthusiasm for life, economics and everything was a real treat.

This paper by Anne Ryan examines the role of basic income in constructing a dynamic, diverse and democratic social economy. ‘Basic income’ means a regular, sufficient and unconditional income, administered by the state and issued to every member of society. Ryan places basic income in the context of a wider framework of important reforms and believes that it could be implemented during the current crisis in Ireland.

Anandi Sharan writes that “the post-Milton Friedman era is not throwing up new answers easily for thinking people across the world and the same is the case in India. Pollution, unemployment and poverty in India as in all other countries are receiving only the most shoddy consideration at policy level.” So what is to be done? Sharan and her colleagues are considering taking legal action against the Indian government to force it to cut greenhouse gas emissions, along the same lines as those described by John Jopling in his post last week.

by John Jopling. How could governments be forced to take the necessary measures to address climate change? In his book Revolution Justified, Roger Cox suggests that legal action may provide the best way forward; an idea shared by many in Feasta’s climate group.

Feasta recently made a brief submission to the EPA on their draft Strategic Plan which you can download from this site. We suggest altering some of the draft’s terminology to make it clearer that prosperity, rather than growth, is a central goal. We also suggest the adoption of clearly quantifiable environmental parameters, such as those outlined by the Stockholm Resilience Group. Finally, we urge the EPA to make use of data from a wider variety of sources.

Should the funds from Cap and Share be distributed equally to individuals or are there better ways of using them? Indians are even more in need of financial help than those suffering from austerity programmes in the west, but James Bruges explains why he believes it would be better to distribute to community organisations in India. He starts his chapter of Sharing for Survival with some comments on climate and also covers related economic issues.

A consensus becomes established out of the persistence of what it attempts to describe. It is inherently retrospective. It tends to assume that what has been, must continue. A couple of decades of low interest rates and stable global economic growth, and well, it becomes the natural order of things.

by Konrad. The Irish government has covered discussion of the proposed property tax in a blanket of silence.  We fear the worst.  The developers, speculators and banks are set for another bail-out by the ordinary citizen.  But it is not too late yet if we wake up and demand a Site Value Tax instead of a property tax that will exempt the 1%.

In his new book, organic farmer and Feasta member Patrick Noble makes the case that those of us who do real, tangible work – “trade’s people” – hold the key to the future. He believes that we should not try to subdue or overthrow those who hold disproportionate power: instead we should simply ignore them and get on with things. This week we’re publishing the book’s foreword and in the course of the next few weeks we’ll be publishing several other extracts from the book.

By John Jopling. Given the number and nature of the global problems facing humanity today, not least climate change, I believe that human kind’s most crucial need now is to have the capacity to “operate effectively at the world level”. My starting point is that we do not at present have this capacity. I want to suggest how we might acquire it.

Smart Taxes hosted a very lively and well attended event in Trinity College, Dublin, on Monday evening 24th September. Three ex city Mayors, one an ex Lord Mayor, announced their presence. As expected and desired, the panel were challenged with many hard and interesting questions. John Bowman showed his experience and skill in keeping the discussion on topic and well tempered. Politicians from all parties (especially the Labour Party it has to be noted) showed admirable interest in debating the property tax in Ireland, as with the launch of the Fair Tax book, but very few media columnists attended.

While “green technology” is an important response to the convergent crises that Ireland and other nations face, it is important not to overlook two other important macroeconomic issues: our current dependence on debt-based money; and the need to rebuild and strengthen local economies. By Graham Barnes.