Yes, there is an alternative to capitalism: Mondragon shows the way | Richard Wolff. There is no alternative ("Tina") to capitalism? Really? We are to believe, with Margaret Thatcher, that an economic system with endlessly repeated cycles, costly bailouts for financiers and now austerity for most people is the best human beings can do? Capitalism's recurring tendencies toward extreme and deepening inequalities of income, wealth, and political and cultural power require resignation and acceptance – because there is no alternative? I understand why such a system's leaders would like us to believe in Tina. But why would others? Of course, alternatives exist; they always do. Modern societies have mostly chosen a capitalist organization of production.
Capitalism thus entails and reproduces a highly undemocratic organization of production inside enterprises. In May 2012, I had occasion to visit the city of Arrasate-Mondragon, in the Basque region of Spain. MC is composed of many co-operative enterprises grouped into four areas: industry, finance, retail and knowledge. Stanford Social Innovation Review: Informing and Inspiring Leaders of Social Change. Home | Pay For Success Learning Hub. Social Impact Bond Project at Rikers Island. A Social Impact Bond is a way to get private investment behind new public programs with the potential to save governments money or otherwise produce a positive social result.
This funding mechanism makes the most sense when governments want to adopt large-scale initiatives that are backed by a solid body of evidence. A government entity and a private investor agree beforehand on the types of outcomes that will constitute success, and then the private investor funds the program’s delivery and operation. When a reliable third-party evaluation confirms that the services have delivered the agreed-upon outcome, the government reimburses the investor. The mechanism has been used a few times experimentally in the United Kingdom, but the current MDRC project is the first time it has been tried in the United States. In this case, the goal is to reduce the recidivism rate among adolescents (those 16 to 18 years old) incarcerated at Rikers Island. Goldman to Invest in New York City Jail Program.
Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. Impact investing. Impact investing is one form of socially responsible investing and serves as a guide for various investment strategies.[1] According to the definition of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): "Impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.
Impact investments can be made in both emerging and developed markets, and target a range of returns from below-market to above-market rates, depending upon the circumstances. "[2] Impact investing tends to have roots in either social issues or environmental issues, and has been contrasted with microfinance.[3] Impact investors actively seek to place capital in businesses, nonprofits, and funds that can harness the positive power of enterprise. Impact investing occurs across asset classes; for example, private equity/venture capital, debt, and fixed income. Background[edit] The Industry[edit] OECD – Your Better Life Index. Average personal index for Germany, men, 15–24 How’s life? There is more to life than the cold numbers of GDP and economic statistics – This Index allows you to compare well-being across countries, based on 11 topics the OECD has identified as essential, in the areas of material living conditions and quality of life.
Download executive summary Download the index data Learn more about the index Better Life BlogArchive Happiness pays For World Happiness Day our guest author suggests that money can't buy you happiness but happiness may get you more money. more ... Gender equality in the workplace Over the past twenty years, women have made huge gains in the workplace but full job equality is still far from reality. More ... Education for well-being: Online discussion We know education is an essential component of well-being, so what makes an education that promotes well-being? More ... Visit our blog Blog RSS feed Find Out MoreArchive Mar 19, 2014 Society at a Glance 2014: OECD Social Indicators. The Parable of the Blobs and Squares. When Can't You Record the Police? A Guide to the Stop and Frisk App. The interface of the NYCLU's new stop and frisk app. Image courtesy of the NYCLU. On Wednesday, the New York Civil Liberties Union launched a free app that allows Android users to record and report the police.
Other app users in their vicinity can listen to the recordings in real-time. In July, the NYCLU plans to release a version of the app for the iPhone. MetroFocus created this short guide to recording the police so you can better understand when you are and aren’t protected by the First Amendment, how to respond to officers who ask you to stop recording and what to do if you are arrested while recording a stop and frisk. In 2011, the NYPD set a new record in its use of the tactic: 684,330 people were stopped and frisked, 86 percent of whom were black or Latino.
In the past year, the U.S. The NYCLU released its stop and frisk app for the Android on Wednesday. What you can do That statement came on the heels of a U.S. What you can’t do What you should and shouldn’t do Other concerns. Paul Lamb: Where Can I Get A Social Credit Card? Why is it that we put so much emphasis on valuing our financial and not our social assets -- things like helping a neighbor or volunteering for a charity?
The obvious answer is that money is easy to quantify while "social capital" is more nebulous. It's much easier to measure stock performance than figure out how much a kindness to a stranger is worth. Or is it? Systems for measurement and valuation are easy to develop for pretty much anything. It's really just a matter of priorities. But it doesn't have to be an either-or scenario. If credit card companies and financial institutions offered an integrated financial/social measurement system, it would be a far more useful way to understand our overall worth. It would send a message that what we give back can be just as important as what we take in, borrow, or spend.
In fact a tough economy is the perfect environment in which to begin equal emphasis on financial and social capital. Frankly, we all deserve more credit...for doing good. Things We Like.