At the 2007 Summer Institute Bernard Lietaer sent a shudder through the program community with his presentation on global financial systems. Bernard is renowned as one of the architects of the Euro and as an expert on complementary currencies. He began his presentation by quoting Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, who predicted a “hard landing” of the dollar within five years. The quote was dated 2005.
Bernard linked the inherent dysfunctions of our monetary system with the rise of the “unhealthy masculine archetype” in modern history. Certainly we are seeing how financial systems have become increasingly disconnected from real value and a real economy–one that obeys the laws of living systems. As Bernard also pointed out, money is not a neutral force but a powerful blind spot and driver behind other social and environmental breakdowns.
The following video explains the illusory but destructive nature of our global financial systems in easy-to-follow terms. As another economist, Tony Lamport, recently commented, “Explaining the solution poses a somewhat bigger challenge.” Read the rest of this entry »
It is indeed my opinion now that evil is never “radical,” that it is only extreme, and that it possesses neither depth nor any demonic dimension. It can overgrow and lay waste the whole world precisely because it spreads like a fungus on the surface. It is “thought-defying,” because thought tries to reach some depth, to go to the roots, and the moment it concerns itself with evil, it is frustrated because there is nothing. That is its “banality.” Only the good has depth and can be radical. – Hannah Arendt
Peter Block’s new book asks the question, How do people in communities come together to produce something new for themselves? “We know a good deal about individual transformation,” he says, “but our understanding about the transformation of human systems…is primitive at best.” Read this excerpt and use the comments field to tell your own story of community transformation. And if you have read the book, leave notes of critique or recommendation for others. 
Reflections on the plenary session “Strategy at the Edge” led by Adam Kahane, Margaret Wheatley, and Jim Gimian,
by Juanita Brown
From the World Café Community Blog. By Juanita Brown.
by Lalith Gunaratne