View source for Schumacher Center for a New Economics

{{Short description|American nonprofit}}
{{Infobox organization
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| formation =  {{start date|1980|01|01|df=y}}
| founder = [[Susan Witt]] and [[Robert Swann (land trust pioneer)|Robert Swann]]
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| type = [[Economics]]
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| status = [[501(c) organization]]
| purpose = Research and application of alternative economics
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| location = 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230
| coords =     {{coord|42.148661660103336|-73.44210567798241}}
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| website = http://www.centerforneweconomics.org/
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| formerly = E. F. Schumacher Society
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The '''Schumacher Center for a New Economics''' (formerly the '''E. F. Schumacher Society''') is a [[501(c) organization|tax exempt nonprofit organization]] based in [[Great Barrington, Massachusetts]].<ref name=tax />
The Schumacher Center promotes the '[[New Economy Coalition#New Economy movement|new economy]]', which includes the concepts [[Local purchasing|buy local]], [[local currency]] and [[self-sufficiency]].<ref name=time /><ref name=forbes /><ref name=angel /><ref name=bingham /> The Schumacher Center aims to combine theoretical research with practical application at the local, regional, national, and international levels.  Further, the use of [[Transformative social change|transformative systems]] and clear communication are part of its principles.
== History ==
===E. F. Schumacher Society===
The Schumacher Center was founded as the E. F. Schumacher Society in 1980 by [[Robert Swann (land trust pioneer)|Robert Swann]] and [[Susan Witt]].<ref name=gandhi />{{rp|111–112}}
Its aim was to preserve [[E. F. Schumacher]]'s personal library and continue his work, which focused on developing and promoting regional, sustainable and socially just economics.<ref name=townes /> To further its aims the organization began hosting annual lectures in 1981.
A library was established in 1990 as a research center for alternative economics.  In 1994, E F Schumacher's personal library and archives were donated to it.<ref name=townes /><ref name=lib />
===Rename===
In 2012 the Schumacher Center for a New Economics was formed to receive and manage the assets of the E. F. Schumacher Society and to manage and further develop its legacy programs.
==Projects==
=== Schumacher Library ===
A library was established in 1990 as a research center for alternative economics. In 1994 Vreni Schumacher donated Fritz's personal library and archives. The library has about fifteen thousand books. The library building is 2,000 square foot, located on the side of Jug End Mountain in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts. Topics covered by the library include worker ownership, [[community supported agriculture]], local currencies, the commons, and [[appropriate technology]].  Its catalogue is searchable online.<ref name=townes /><ref name=lib />
===Local Currencies===
The center has resources about [[local currency|local currencies]] and helped set up the [[BerkShare]].<ref name=reuters /><ref name=time2 /> It maintains a list of active local currencies in the United States.<ref name=mainstreet /> In 2004 it held the ''Local Currencies in the 21st Century conference'' which as reported by the [[Utne Reader]].<ref name=utne /> In September 2013 Alice Maggio, the Schumacher Center's Local Currency Program Director, was interviewed for [[PBS]]'s News Hour program.<ref name=pbs />
==== BerkShares ====
{{main|BerkShares}}
BerkShares is a local currency in Berkshire region of Massachusetts. In 2007 over eight hundred thousand BerkShares where in circulation.<ref name=reuters /><ref name=time2 />  The program promotes collaboration among producers, retail businesses, non-profit organizations, service providers and consumers. Additionally, it is designed to increase public awareness of the importance of the local economy and self-sufficiency. The New York Times referred to the BerkShares program as a "great socioeconomic experiment."<ref name=nytimes />
=== SHARE Micro-credit Program ===
The Self-Help Association for a Regional Economy (SHARE) is a model community-based nonprofit that offers a simple way for citizens to create a sustainable local economy by supporting businesses that provide products or services needed in the region.<ref name=ethicalmarkets /> SHARE makes micro-credit loans available at manageable interest rates to businesses that are often considered "high risk" by traditional lenders—usually because of their credit ratings or the unique nature of their business ideas. Local SHARE members make interest-earning deposits in a local bank, which are used to collateralize loans for local businesses with a positive community impact. SHARE depositors live in the same community as the business owners they support—bringing a human face back to lending decisions. The SHARE program of the Southern Berkshire region existed from 1981 to 1992, and collateralized 23 loans with a 100% rate of repayment.<ref name=intro /><ref name=yesshare />
=== Community Land Trusts ===
[[Robert Swann (land trust pioneer)|Robert Swann]], founder of the E. F. Schumacher Society, is known as a pioneer of the [[community land trust]] movement. The E. F. Schumacher Society provided technical assistance towards the formation of the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires in 1980.<ref name=rodale />
=== E. F. Schumacher Lectures ===
From 1981 to the present, the E. F. Schumacher Society and now the Schumacher Center for a New Economics have hosted an annual lecture in honor of [[E. F. Schumacher]]. The E. F. Schumacher Lectures capture some of the most visionary voices regarding the urgent need to transform our economic, social, and cultural systems in a way that supports both the planet and its citizens.<ref name=pub /> Past presenters include:
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* [[Gar Alperovitz]]
* Donald Anderson
* [[Benjamin Barber]]
* [[Dan Barber]]
* [[Peter Barnes (entrepreneur)|Peter Barnes]]
* Chris Bedford
* [[Thomas Berry]]
* [[Wendell Berry]]
* [[Elise Boulding]]
* [[David Brower]]
* Christopher Houghton Budd
* [[Majora Carter]]
* Marie Cirillo
* David Ehrenfield
* William Ellis
* Sally Fallon Morell
* John Fullerton
* [[Chellis Glendinning]]
* [[Edward Goldsmith]]
* Neva Goodwin
* Hunter Hannum
* Alanna Hartzok
* [[Richard Heinberg]]
* [[Hazel Henderson]]
* [[Ivan Illich]]
* Dana Lee Jackson
* [[Wes Jackson]]
* [[Jane Jacobs]]
* Andrew Kimbrell
* [[David Korten]]
* [[Winona LaDuke]]
* [[Anna Lappé]]
* [[Frances Moore Lappé]]
* Thomas Linzey
* [[Amory Lovins]]
* Kevin Lyons
* [[Oren Lyons]]
* [[Jerry Mander]]
* John McClaughry
* [[Bill McKibben]]
* John McKnight
* George McRobie
* [[Deborah Meier]]
* Stephanie Mills
* Stacy Mitchell
* John Mohawk
* [[George Monbiot]]<ref name=LectureMonbiot />
* David Morris
* [[Helena Norberg-Hodge]]
* Richard Norgaard
* [[David W. Orr]]
* Will Raap
* [[Kirkpatrick Sale]]
* William Schambra
* Michael H. Shuman
* Cathrine Sneed
* [[James Gustave Speth]]
* [[Joseph Stanislaw]]
* [[Robert Swann (land trust pioneer)|Robert Swann]]
* [[John Todd (Canadian biologist)]]
* Nancy Jack Todd
* [[Chuck Turner]]
* [[Jakob von Uexkull]]
* Stewart Wallis
* Greg Watson
* Judy Wicks
* [[Susan Witt]]
* [[Arthur Zajonc]]
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In 1997, [[Yale University Press]] published ''People, Land, and Community'' a collection of the annual lectures.<ref name= yale /> According to the magazine ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'', the book "address(es) Schumacher's call for small-scale economies and policies."<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/money-print-your-own/book-review-people-land-and-community-collected-ef-schumacher-society-lectures|title=Book Review: People, Land and Community: Collected EF Schumacher Society Lectures|publisher=[[Kirkus Reviews]]|date=June 30, 1997}} (via [[Yes! (U.S. magazine)|''Yes!'' magazine]])</ref>
==Criticism==
In August 2011 the [[National Catholic Register]] criticized the society for under playing the influence of the Catholic church on Schumacher, in particular [[Pope Paul VI|Paul VI's]] ''[[Humanae Vitae]]''.<ref name=ncr />
==See also==
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* [[Buddhist economics]]
* [[Community organizing]]
* [[Open Source Ecology]]
* [[Satish Kumar]] - involved in founding the society
* [[Schumacher College]]
* [[Small is beautiful]]
* [[Transition Towns]]
{{Div col end}}
== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=angel>{{cite web|last1=Angel|first1=Karen|title=To Shop Locally or Not to Shop Locally? That Is the Question|date=6 January 2015|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-angel/to-shop-locally-or-not-to_b_6417824.html|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=25 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=bingham>{{cite web|last1=Bingham|first1=G. Benjamin|title=One Whole or Many Holes: Can Money Be Part of a Holistic System?|date=22 August 2013|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/g-benjamin-bingham/holistic-business-strategy-_b_3773483.html|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=25 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=ethicalmarkets>{{cite book|last=Henderson|first=Hazel|title=Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy|year=2006|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|location=White River Junction, VT, USA|isbn=9781933392233|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ethicalmarketsgr0000hend/page/52 52–53]|url=https://archive.org/details/ethicalmarketsgr0000hend/page/52}}</ref>
<ref name=forbes>{{cite web|last1=Emily Lambert|first1=Emily|title=Funny Money|url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/02/11/local-currencies-ithaca_cz_el_money06_0214local.html|work=Forbes|accessdate=23 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=gandhi>{{cite book|last=Mills|first=Stephanie|title=On Gandhi's Path|year=2010|publisher=New Society Publishers|location=Gabriola Island, BC, Canada|isbn=9780865716155|pages=111–112|url=http://newsociety.com/Books/O/On-Gandhi-s-Path}}</ref>
<ref name=intro>{{Cite web|url=http://centerforneweconomics.org/content/introduction-share|title = Introduction to SHARE}}</ref>
<ref name=lib>{{cite web|title=SCHUMACHER CENTER LIBRARY|url=http://opac.libraryworld.com/opac/signin?libraryname=SCHUMACHER%20CENTER%20LIBRARY|publisher=[[Online public access catalog]]|accessdate=23 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=mainstreet>{{cite web|last1=Bundrick|first1=Hal M.|title=Ditching the Dollar: The Rise of Local Currency|url=http://www.mainstreet.com/article/ditching-dollar-rise-local-currency/page/2|publisher=[[TheStreet.com]]|accessdate=25 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=pbs>{{cite web|title=What's Minted in Berkshire County Stays There: Finding Reward in Local Currency|date=5 September 2013|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business-july-dec13-berkshares_09-05/|publisher=[[PBS]]|accessdate=25 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=ncr>{{cite web|last1=PEARCE|first1=Joseph|title=The Vision of E. F. Schumacher|url=http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-vision-of-e.f.-schumacher/|publisher=[[National Catholic Register]]|accessdate=23 February 2015}}</ref>
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<ref name=nei>{{cite web|title=A Briefing on the New Economics Institute |url=http://neweconomicsinstitute.org/content/briefing-new-economics-institute |accessdate=18 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017095025/http://neweconomicsinstitute.org/content/briefing-new-economics-institute |archivedate=October 17, 2012 }}</ref>
<ref name=newexec>{{cite web|title=Executive Director, New Economy Coalition|url=http://tsne.org/executive-director-new-economy-coalition|publisher=Third Sector New England|accessdate=19 February 2015}}</ref> -->
<ref name=pub>{{cite web|title=Schumacher Center for New Economics Publications|url=http://centerforneweconomics.org/publications|accessdate=20 December 2013}}</ref>
<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/us/25land.html|title=Would You Like That in Tens, Twenties or Normans?|date=25 February 2007|author=Dan Barry|work=The New York Times|accessdate=25 September 2017|via=www.nytimes.com}}</ref>
<ref name=reuters>{{cite news|last1=Scott Malone|first1=Scott|title=New age town embraces dollar alternative|date=19 June 2007|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-berkshares-idUSN0530157720070619|work=[[Reuters]]|accessdate=23 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=rodale>{{cite web|last1=McFadden|first1=Steven|title=The History of Community Supported Agriculture, Part I|url=http://www.newfarm.org/features/0104/csa-history/part1.shtml|publisher=[[Rodale Institute]]|accessdate=26 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=tax>{{cite web |url=http://centerforneweconomics.org/content/tax-exempt-status |title=Tax-exempt status |website=Schumacher Center for a New Economics |access-date=July 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119051209/http://centerforneweconomics.org/content/tax-exempt-status |archive-date=January 19, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name=time>{{cite magazine|last1=Schwartz|first1=Judith D.|title=Buying Local: How It Boosts the|magazine=Time|date=11 June 2009|url=http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903632,00.html|publisher=Time Magazine|accessdate=23 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=time2>{{cite magazine|last1=Schwartz|first1=Judith D.|title=Alternative Currencies Grow in Popularity|magazine=Time|date=14 December 2008|url=http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1865467,00.html|publisher=Time Magazine|accessdate=23 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=townes>{{cite web|last1=Townes|first1=John|title=Interview: "Small is Beautiful"|url=http://jtgallery.net/resume/22/|publisher=Berkshire Trade and Commerce|accessdate=17 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=utne>{{cite web|last1=Stonington|first1=Joel|title=Local Currencies Aren't Small Change|url=http://www.utne.com/community/localcurrenciesarentsmallchange.aspx?PageId=1|publisher=[[Utne Reader]]|accessdate=25 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=yale>{{cite web|title=People, Land, and Community Collected E. F. Schumacher Society Lectures|url=http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=0300071736|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|accessdate=17 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=yesshare>{{cite web|last1=Golden|first1=Jeff|title=3 Ways to Invest in Your Community|url=http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-new-economy/3-ways-to-invest-in-your-community|publisher=[[Yes! (U.S. magazine)|Yes!]]|accessdate=23 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name=LectureMonbiot>{{cite web|title=Private Sufficiency, Public Luxury: Land is the Key to the Transformation of Society|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63WSvrquIPU|publisher=Schumacher Center for a New Economics|accessdate=10 November 2020}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
* [http://www.centerforneweconomics.org/ Schumacher Center For a New Economics]
* [http://communitylandtrust.org/ Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires]
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[[Category:Sustainability organizations]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Great Barrington, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Economics libraries]]
[[Category:Think tanks established in 1980]]
[[Category:Political and economic think tanks in the United States]]