Welcome to Issue 7 of the New Economy Journal, our second last issue for 2019!
This month’s instalment of the NEJ features a diverse series of pieces, from Jane R. Goodall’s careful deconstruction of UBI versus the Job Guarantee debate, to Thomas Whiteside’s profile of Harmony Cleaning, a contract-cleaning cooperative operated by Karen refugees. There’s poetry, satire, fiction and foreign affairs – all written to inform, provoke and inspire.
As always, we hope you disagree with some, take hope from others, and learn from all about how we can build a new, just and sustainable economy.
The Editors
Table of Contents
UBI versus the Job Guarantee: The New Political Divide?
Contents [1] The future in today [2] UBI and the Jobs Guarantee: Wherefrom and whoto [3] The commons Suppose, in some parallel universe, we the people were faced with an electoral choice between two major parties: one committed to the introduction of an unconditional basic income, and the other to...
Harmony Cleaning, Part One: The Birth of Harmony Cleaning Co-operative
In late February 2019, a seemingly unlikely partnership between Airbnb and a Canberra based, union-backed, refugee run cleaning cooperative, ‘Harmony Cleaning’ was announced. The story was reported widely, sparking interest as a uniquely 21st century phenomenon: an unexpected synthesis of the ethical consumption movement and the ‘gig economy’. This two...
A Middle-Eastern New Economy Desperately Needs Our Support: The Kurdish Democratic Confederalists
Contents [1] Turkish Imperialism [2] Democratic Confederalism [3] The Syrian Civil War [4] The Spanish Civil War of Our Age Cliché or not, the phrase “the Kurds have no friends but the mountains” rings depressingly true. US President Donald Trump’s gross betrayal of the Rojava Kurds — followed by a...
Reversing Global Warming: Project Drawdown – It’s possible and we all have a role to play!
At the Paris Climate Summit in 2015 Paul Hawken realised that the language around addressing the impact of global warming on our global climate appeared to be focusing on adaptation and mitigation – but no one seemed to be focusing on a comprehensive plan to reverse global warming. As Paul...
Cosmo localism: Tech trend, post-capitalist commons transition, or something else?
*This text is based on a presentation at the First Global Commons Forum, Seoul, Korea, Karl Polanyi Institute Asia, Oct 2, 2019. It was first published on Medium. - Jose Ramos Contents [1] Cosmo-localism as a tech trend [2] The contradictions [3] Pop up political economies [4] The role of...
Fireflies
He walks quickly as the concrete path turns to worn dirt under his feet, his jacket collar pulled high around his neck. Night is falling on the forest. There is a kink to the right in the path up ahead, under the spreading limbs of an old willow. His eyes...
Like F***ing Mozzies in a Darkroom
Remember how a couple of months ago ScoMo brought the Tongan prime minister to tears? Sopoaga used to eat sedition charges for a light breakfast so it must’ve been some proper fiery-tongued pentecostal climate denialism the Scuz was spewing around the meeting table that day. Here’s how I picture it:...
Kakadu Circle of Life
The Circle of Life—Kakadu Dreaming If I could go back in time We would arrive in Kakadu before the old ways were disrupted When Bininj fished in the north and Mungguy hunted in the south It is the time of Gurrung now Six seasons were always celebrated here Not just...
Book Review: Philosophy and Climate Science (Eric Winsberg)
A journalist once wrote that anthropogenesis (human-caused climate warming) is as “obvious as 1 plus 1 equals 2”.Read More ...