Transforming our Economy
07 February, 2019
You are here:
We need a new economics for the 21st century that puts people and planet first, through sustainable public services, scaling up cooperatives and fair trade.
Sustainable public services and a fair taxation system are the basis of economic justice. All of us benefit when peoples’ fundamental rights to health, energy, water, education, transport and food are guaranteed by an active state.
From clean water in Uruguay to food distribution centres in India and municipally-controlled renewable energy in Germany; public services provide hundreds of millions of people with their basic needs everyday. Public services are threatened by privatization and corporate tax avoidance. Yet people across the world are fighting back with a strong global movement demanding tax justice, and over 835 public services have been reclaimed by governments and cities across the world.
“Thousands of practical solutions for a more just and sustainable world are already being implemented everyday - our challenge is to scale them up and transform our economies.”
Sam Cossar, Economic Justice and Resisting Neoliberalism International Program Coordinator
One in every seven people globally is a member of a cooperative, which is a viable option for managing a company based on the principles of democracy, workers’ rights, sustainability and the egalitarian distribution of economic returns.
Feminist organizations have played a major role in building this ‘social and solidarity economy’, and many Friends of the Earth groups across the world run cooperatives.
We need to scale up the impact of cooperatives and social ownership through proper access to financing, supportive regulatory frameworks and increased social movement engagement.
Fruits of Resistance in Brazil
Just past Porto Alegre’s Redenção park, two blocks towards the river, sits the CaSanAT building. A colorful single...
Covid-19: The peoples’ path from crisis to recovery
What impact has the Covid-19 pandemic had on the peoples, communities and allies that Friends of the Earth works with? H...
Five solutions to transform our economy
We need a new economics for the 21st century that puts people and planet first, through sustainable public services, scaling up cooperatives and fair trade. People across the world are creating a just and sustainable future.
The Co-operative way forward
Ever wished for an ethical food supplier? Find out how The Friends of the Earth Australia Food Co-op is just that, organic food produced as locally as possible and packaging-free, community hub bringing people together. Be inspired!
No net loss of biodiversity: a false solution and more destruction.
Biodiversity is in crisis. The degradation and loss of nature and species’ extinction are immense and have serious imp...
Transnational corporations and peoples’ rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: Violations of peoples’ sovereignty
We cannot understand the configuration of the capitalist system in recent years without considering the role of Transnat...
Image: Street markets as a fruit of resistance (Friends of the Earth Brazil/Núcleo Amigos da Terra)
