“The Power of Mind” was the theme of the Club of Rome annual conference concluded earlier this month in Bucharest. That theme is of immense relevance to addressing the multiple crises that afflict humanity today. The essential message of the conference is that solutions do exist to the problems confronting humanity today, but those problems necessitate fundamental changes in the way we think about global society, public policy and humanity’s future. Enough time and energy has already been spent defining and quantifying the global problematique of persistent hunger and endemic poverty, rising unemployment and growing inequalities, resource depletion and environmental damage, financial instability and soaring public debt, growing insecurity, cultural tensions and social unrest both domestically and internationally. Business as usual, more of the same, simply will not do. We need a radical change of course. Mind has the power to formulate effective solutions, if it consents to cast off the blinding constraints of conventional wisdom and vested interests. Since its conception, Cadmus has carried numerous articles seeking to identify the essential tenets of a true science of Economy. Money plays a central role in economics today, yet it is rare to come across a serious, informed discussion of what money really is and what role it plays in modern society. Although we all use money every day, the nature and functioning of money seem shrouded in commonplace myths and ancient mysteries. This issue contains a challenging analysis of prevailing monetary practices, the first in a series of articles exploring the origins, nature and functioning of money, and an extensive book review of a new report by the Club of Rome’s European Chapter explaining the benefits of complementary monetary systems. Issue 5 also includes a critical examination of fundamental premises of prevailing economic theory, an extensive survey of recent books focusing on the need for a new economics, and a review of an insightful UN report examining the linkages between economy, ecology and governance. You can read the articles by clicking on the link in the right column or opening the attached pdf file. Orio Giarini, Garry Jacobs & Ivo Šlaus
Editors | Inside This Issue There is now an increasing interest in such outside-the-box thinking even in conservative institutions, which are aware that the “wealth” created by the current financial system is increasingly illusory. J. von Uexkull, Money, Debt, People & Planet Understanding money as a social organization, we perceive that it is capable of infinite multiplication, the same way information, knowledge, law, education and other social institutions can and do multiply. G. Jacobs & I. Šlaus, The Power of Money The economic system depicted by neo-classical theory does not encompass the most important characteristics of the Earth system in which human activity plays an important role. R. Hoffman, On the Need for New Economic Foundations The economics of the industrial era & the 20th century is not appropriate to the 21st century service economies, where human capital and natural capital are—and should be—increasingly valued, and estimates of “wealth”, national product, and human happiness and satisfaction are increasingly questioned. M. Marien, New and Appropriate Economics for the 21st Century Efficient allocation of money to maximize returns on that money is not the central purpose of either money or economy. To scientifically make a case against speculation would itself constitute a huge & original contribution to economic theory. I. Šlaus & G.Jacobs, Book Review: Money & Sustainability It is time for “genuine global action” that integrates the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of development. M. Marien, Book Review: Resilient People, Resilient Planet Click here to read the articles of Issue 5 –Part 1. |
Invitation to participate in the e-seminar on The Science of Networks On November 8th, 2012 At 1500 UTC (0700 PST, 1000 EST, 1600 CET, 2030 IST) Online WebEx meeting Click here for more details Click here to register as a participant The e-workshop will explore the development of Network Science and its application to a broad range of fields, including: - The spontaneous emergence of networks and their impact on democratic processes.
- Health research and disease dissemination.
- Evolution of relationships between individual members of society impacted by advances in technology, communications and social development.
- The role of money as a networking instrument and the impact of networks on the worldwide financial crises.
- The process of social development as the growth & integration of society as a network.
- Global society as a network of governmental, commercial and civil society organizations.
- Impact of diminishing bio-diversity on human society and at the planetary level.
- The role of institutions governing today’s complex industrialized societies.
- Similarities in architecture and governing principles between microcosm and macrocosm, and between systems in diverse fields such as cellular biology and the internet.
- Mega-networks in the field of communication, energy distribution via smart grids, etc.
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