Sacred Economics: Money, Gift and Society in the Age of Transition - An evening with Charles Eisenstein
This event is co-sponsored by the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Social Economy Initiative of the Marcel Desautel Institute for Integrated Management.
Sacred Economics traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth. Today, these trends have reached their extreme – but in the wake of their collapse, we may find great opportunity to transition to a more connected, ecological, and sustainable way of being.
Sacred Economics is about how the money system will have to change – and is already changing – to embody this transition. A broadly integrated synthesis of theory, policy, and practice, Sacred Economics explores avant-garde concepts of the New Economics, including negative-interest currencies, local currencies, resource-based economics, gift economies, and the restoration of the commons.
Our society is entering a time of profound transition, as multiple crises are propelling our civilization toward a radically different way of living on planet earth. The transition is also happening on a personal level: increasingly, we know we are here for a purpose, and we feel compelled to act on that knowledge. We feel compelled to contribute our gifts toward the well-being and evolution of all. But how to make that transition? How can we align with, and contribute to, society's metamorphosis?
In this gathering we will explore, in concept and in practice:
- How to be an effective change agent in times of transition;
- Our unique historical moment: from separation to connection;
- The gift as an operating principle of life, leadership, and creativity;
- The rebirth of community;
- A next step into trust, flow, and truth.
Charles Eisenstein is a teacher, speaker, and writer focusing on themes of civilization, consciousness, money, and human cultural evolution. His books (The Ascent of Humanity and Sacred Economics) as well as his other essays and blog posts on web magazines have generated a vast online following; he speaks frequently at conferences and other events, and gives numerous interviews on radio and podcasts.
Writing in Ode magazine’s “25 Intelligent Optimists” issue, David Korten (author of When Corporations Rule the World) called Eisenstein “one of the up-and-coming great minds of our time.” Eisenstein graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy, and spent the next ten years as a Chinese-English translator. He currently lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife and three sons.
Date: Feb 28, 2013
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Location: Room 151, Bronfman Building, 1001 Sherbrooke Street W.
This event is sold out.Ěý
A second event, entitled "The Gift: Ecology, the Commons, and your Future," will be held on March 1, 2013 (10:00 am) at Macdonald Campus.Ěý
