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writing for godot

The Work of the Core Economy - Preserving the Possibilities Created by the Egyptian Revolution

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Written by Edgar Cahn   
Monday, 14 February 2011 14:29

I found myself reflecting about the Egyptian Revolution from a traditional economist’s point of view. During those two weeks, no doubt the GDP of Egypt suffered a drop. Instability stopped trade and, except for a handful of brave reporters and a stream of Egyptian ex-patriates, tourism doubtless dropped. There was fear that oil prices would spike and that access to the Suez Canal would be blocked. All that was achieved was liberty and the assertion of basic human rights. But from a market point of view, it was a non-event or perhaps a negative event.

But for me, this revolution was in fact a major economic event. The multitudes that gathered engaged in an unprecedented surge of value creating activity. The Core Economy of households, neighborhoods and civil society were functioning at peak efficiency to do what the Core Economy at its best should be doing: making human development possible; advancing social justice; solidifying and validating mutual interdependence; advancing trust; creating a legacy based on fundamental values that will inspire future generations.

We need to be conscious of a different kind of economics, an economics of meaning, an ecological economics. The only credentials needed were courage, hope, and a willingness to put one’s body on the line. This revolution did not call upon traditional marketable skills unless one appreciates that the restraint by all (including the military), the tenacity, the shared consciousness of higher values, the willingness to make sacrifices for a larger cause exemplify intelligence, problem solving and ethical sensibility that undergirds market and commerce.

Now consider what weaponry was involved: cell phones, twitter, e-mail, facebook – multiplied billions of times by communications, by a world watching, by formal governmental processes having to respond to a seemingly unstoppable force. I have heard it said that the fall of communism was triggered in part by the distribution of Xerox machines in Soviet Russia so that documents could be copied and news spread. It is clear that events in Tunisia helped inspire the opposition in Egypt to mount the protests that led to the toppling of Mubarak.
In Egypt, news commentators noted how educated professionals, lawyers and doctors, have participated in the movement.

Throughout the Mideast, indeed, throughout the world, it is no longer possible to prevent mass dissemination of ideas and a quantum increase in dialog and debate on fundamental issues that include religion, the status of women, human rights, economics and democracy.

Unemployment, inflation and the vast disparity of wealth triggered mass, uncontrollable anger. Sooner rather than later, throughout the world, there will be the need for another kind of economics. Given the vast unemployment around the world, we will need a different kind of money to get us through a period of transition and transformation.

There is vast and urgent work to be done. While creating a new government takes work and time, other work must go forward: raising children, providing education, promoting public health and public safety, delivering health care, taking care of the elderly, preserving and creating culture, creating an expanding the core infrastructure of roads and utilities and clean water, making democracy work, preserving the planet. People are patient – but they must eat – and they must have a reason to believe in the future.

Governments will not have the funds to mount massive public works schemes. Charity will not be sufficient to meet basic needs, let alone generate the singular effort it will take to keep hope alive. I believe we must create a separate economic system that enlists all to build the kind of world we all want – and that provides all willing to contribute with access to sustenance needed.

What would it take to establish distribution centers where people who contributed a specified number of hours to address a public need would be able to secure an allotment of food or clothing or fuel? What would it take, given the distribution of cell phones to create the equivalent of Craig’s list to generate a vast barter economy utilizing an hour-based electronic currency as the medium of exchange? What local institutions – civic or faith-based or organization-based – to function as intermediaries to oversee storehouses of essential materials and goods? What would it take to organize local efforts to create sustainable communities and networks that would trade with each other to meet basic needs?

If ever there was a time when complementary currencies could undergird civic development, public health, and general welfare, it is now. If ever there was a time when those with wealth, power and privilege would see it in their own self-interest to collaborate in creating an economic system that addressed critical need by rewarding basic labor, it is now. If ever there was a time when enabling people to be empowered by enlisting in work that advanced the common good, it is now. This is indeed what TimeBanking has done in community after community. (www.timebanks.org) New Community Weaver software utilizing Drupal will be available within a month; translation into different languages and smart phone applications will shortly be available.

A collective effort to initiate community-building efforts on a massive scale would be facilitated by use of a currency that sent a message of equality and respect with each hour of work provided.

What do you think?

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