Thursday, August 30, 2007

Labor Day Evaluation of Current Economic Practices

I've been following Michael Lerner and his Spiritual Progressive movement, his magazine, Tikkun, and his call to us in the psychotherapy professions to use our "social-psychological wisdom" in helping to bring about reform. I'm posting this announcement of a new e-zine he's set up that includes space for comments and for your own contributions in case you might be interested.

Lerner makes a point that his "spiritual progressive" terminology is inclusive of all belief systems. He's recently written a book called "The Left Hand of God" suggesting ways of taking back our country from the religious right. He suggests a "Global Marshall Plan" and a "Strategy of Generosity" regarding restoration of territories world-wide that have been torn by war (and economic greed).

In these linked pages there is information pertaining to my pet interest--growing new varieties of alternative and complementary local economies based on building better relations within a community. At the same time these alternatives might offer us protection from the fluctuations taking place in the mainstream or global economy. Below are some links, one to the Spiritual Progressives' page which gives affirmation to organizations putting these new forms in place, and the other to a site giving a cognitive framework for such enterprises. "Transformation Central: Solidarity Economies".

With Labor Day approaching, it is a good time to think about the nature of your work and get some clarity about the requirements of a working economy. This article from Tikkun offers suggestions of how you might spend your Labor Day with family and friends doing an assessment of your work ethics and an evaluation of our current economic practices in the U.S. to see how well they integrate with your core values.

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