Bristol Schumacher Lectures - Review
Released: 22 October 2009
22 October 2009
This year’s Bristol Schumacher Conference brought together a wide range of people at the Council House in Bristol for a lively series of talks and discussions titled ‘From the ashes of the crash – Rebuilding with the new economics’, chaired by Stewart Wallis of the new economic foundation (nef).
We heard first from Dr Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, who argued that the recent credit crunch is a symptom of a deeply flawed model of growth based on exports. The world’s poor are suffering the greatest in the global downturn and Dr. Ghosh stressed that now is the time to move our global economy to a more sustainable model of growth based on improving welfare.
Andrew Simms, nef policy director, and Stacy Mitchell, a researcher with the US-based ‘Institute for Local Self-Reliance’, both spoke about how corporations and retail chains have reclassified people as consumers, and urged the audience to regain their standing as citizens. Andrew drew parallels between the human injustice of the international trade model prevalent in the 16th-19th centuries (involving slavery) and the environmental injustice of the current system. However, he argued that history also teaches us that economies can change, and the current crisis is the opportunity to introduce a new economics which will create sustainable wealth without damaging the environment.
During the afternoon, Mark Mansley, of Rathbone Greenbank Investments, co-chaired a workshop entitled ‘Investing in low carbon economy’ which explored some of the ideas raised during the day. Topics ranged from the creation of a UK sustainable development bank, to the importance of encouraging people to invest both time and money in their local communities.
Mark was also able to draw on Rathbone Greenbank Investments’ experience in the fields of renewable energy and microfinance to address questions on the impact of alternative energy and low carbon growth in developing countries on a low carbon economy.
Rathbone Greenbank Investments looks forward to continuing to play a role in the creation of a sustainable global economy.