27 Oct
2011
A Broken System: How Do We Move Forward and Thrive in a New Economic Paradigm?
 Joshua Farley PhD |
Reflect on the current state of our financial situation and envision a compelling path forward with ecological economist Joshua Farley PhD. Farley is Associate Professor in Community Development and Applied Economics and Fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics.
With Wall Street occupied and unrest spreading across the land we find ourselves at new cross-roads. The broad based movement seeks to address the inequities inherent in the current economic model; too much money in the hands of the few. How did we find ourselves here and what does the path look like that will steer us toward a more compelling and ethical economic future?
Joshua Farley's broad research interests focus on the design of an economy capable of balancing what is biophysically possible with what is socially, psychologically and ethically desirable, "Conventional economists have horribly misdiagnosed the problem as inadequate levels of consumption and too little money available to invest. In reality, we face a crisis of excess consumption dangerously destabilizing the global ecosystem, and too much money in the hands of the few.... Proposed solutions to the crisis are equally flawed; obsessively focused on restoring economic growth, their major outcome will be increased depletion of our natural resource base, further concentration of income, and global economic instability. A true solution demands that we redefine recession from a lack of economic growth, to growth in poverty, misery and unemployment."
Mr. Farley holds degrees in biology, international affairs and economics. He has previously served as program director at the School for Field Studies, Centre for Rainforest Studies, as Executive Director of the University of Maryland International Institute for Ecological Economics, and as adjunct faculty and licensed examiner at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. He recently returned from a Fulbright Fellowship in Brazil, where he served as visiting professor at the Federal Universities of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and Bahia (UFBA). He is co-author with Herman Daly of Ecological Economics, Principles and Applications, 2nd ed. Island Press (2010).
Venue: The Big Picture, 7 p.m. start. This is a free event and open to the public.
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