The Resilience Imperative

Review, Resurgence Magazine, Ed Mayo The two authors have an outstanding track record of social innovation for a more just and sustainable economy. What they describe is therefore born out of practice rather than ideas. The Resilience Imperative tells us that it is OK to dream in the daytime. The authors are practical pioneers with an unrivalled track record of cooperative innovation. Review, E Magazine July 2012 K.B. How can we get our economy back on track while simultaneously making it more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable? The Resilience Imperative: Cooperative Transitions to a Steady-State Economy addresses this question through a series of warnings and historical examples. Authors Michael Lewis and Pat Conaty, who specialize in integrative economic systems, advocate for the U.S. moving away from a large economy reliant on fossil fuels to small, local economies. Lewis and Conaty warn readers about the current "era of volatility" caused by human impact on the environment and climate change and walk them through the links between fossil fuel consumption, climate change, the global economy and financial recessions. "In part, what impedes our breaking out of the box is the conviction that economic growth and prosperity are synonymous--too many believe that we can't have one without the other," they write. They stress that prosperity is determined by quality of life and that the economy should be stabilized, not continue to grow. The authors offer as examples Sweden's JAK, an interest-free lending system, and Community Land Trusts such as the Gramdan movement in India. The cooperation between individuals and policymakers is vital to create a country that can sustain itself and its practices, they posit. "Without engagement, dialogue, and sometime fractious debate to determine what is most important, it is not possible to set strategy effectively or to learn from what works and what does not." They argue that with more integration and cooperation between businesses, governments and communities, a more sustainable economy is possible.