Democratizing Wealth

A new movement - a democracy movement - was born in the streets of Seattle on November 30, 1999. This movement’s early years were not easy. Pro-democracy organizers faced crisis after crisis: the stolen presidential elections of 2000 and 2004; the militarization of America that followed September 11th; the destruction of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina; the Supreme Court ruling that corporations wield constitutional rights to buy elections; and today, an economic crisis that is being used to impose fiscal austerity and corporatization schemes on our states and people.

Through these difficult struggles, the new democracy movement has taken form, expanded, and matured. The first Democracy Convention, held in August of 2011, was an incredible “coming of age” celebration for the U.S. democracy movement. Join us at the second convention. It’s time to take more risks and to begin to win the victories that make another world possible.

The Democracy Convention is a project of the Liberty Tree Foundation together with the conveners of each of this year’s nine conferences.

Gar Alperovitz will be delivering a keynote address at the August 7th opening plenary, and a workshop on “The Emerging Shape of the Next System” on the morning of August 8th.

Dire ecological news and the failures of the global economy are fuelling interest in a “new economics” grounded in principles of ecological sustainability, the democratization of wealth, community empowerment and social and digital connection. Following the success of last year’s first annual Boston College Summer Institute in New Economics, we will be holding another session from August 12-18, 2013. If you are a PhD student in the social sciences, you are invited to apply.

We will bring together a group of distinguished faculty who are pursuing research and practice in this emerging field. Confirmed faculty include Juliet Schor (Boston College), Gar Alperovitz (University of Maryland), Gill Seyfang (University of East Anglia) and Michel Bauwens (P2P Foundation and University of Amsterdam). Practitioners working on new economy projects will join us for workshops. Together with a dynamic group of students, we will meet for an intensive program of classes, workshops and participatory sessions. Graduate students attending the Institute can expect to leave with a solid grounding in the latest research and theory, and as part of a network of faculty and other graduate students.

This year’s institute will be held at the Johnson Foundation’s historic Wingspread retreat center, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home at Wind Point, Wisconsin. Wingspread is an exceptional facility at the shores of Lake Michigan that fosters productive conversations, creativity and community. It is located on 32 acres of land and is ideal for hiking, biking and swimming. Wingspread offers superb dining and accommodations.

Core Faculty and Topics

Juliet Schor, Boston College: Labor & Consumer Cultures

Gar Alperovitz, UMaryland: Democratization of Wealth; Complex Systems

Michel Bauwens, P2P Foundation: P2P Economies

Prasannan Parthasarathi, Boston College: Ecological Alternatives

Gill Seyfang, University of East Anglia: Grassroots Innovations & Sustainable Transitions

Public lectured organized by PERI, details TBA.

Details TBA

Sponsored by the University United Methodist Church and Cooperation Texas