My Experience Running a Spiritually-Based Political Campaign

Politics and Spirituality Come Together I was a candidate for the presidency of Chile. Was it a dream or a reality? It is impossible to forget the morning of November 17, 2013, when I arrived in my little village of Ninhue to vote. My arrival was originally scheduled for 9AM. This was the time when all TV and radio stations allocated prime time to report on my campaign. However, nature…

A Great Transition? Where We Stand

The following was delivered as a keynote address at the biennial conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) in Reykjavik, Iceland, in August 2014.1 Today’s presentation marks the second consecutive century that I have had the honor of addressing this body on the theme of a Great Transition. The first time was at the 1998 meeting in Chile where I introduced the…

Why the Will Matters Now

We are living at a time when the vision of wholeness is seeping into consciousness, upsetting all sorts of established patterns of thinking, seeing, and acting. As a species we are, perhaps for the first time in any collective sense, beginning to care about the good of the whole, noticing that the well-being of the individual unit in any system depends upon the well-being of the environment…

Does the Human Species Wish to Survive?

The title question is deliberately provocative, yet relevant to reflections on the future of humanity. The question is framed to encourage inquiry into whether the human species as a species has the collective will needed to overcome several global challenges that confront humanity before the onset of catastrophic havoc. Such framing can be labeled as ‘prudent alarmism’ given the risks arising…

Economics for the Anthropocene

A talk given at the Schumacher Center for New Economics, Great Barrington, MA, USA, July 27, 2014 I’m so happy to be back in Great Barrington and to have this opportunity to talk with you. We’re going to talk about economics tonight, so let me tell you about my career in economics. It started when I was ten and my father, a real economist, hired me to crunch numbers for a book he was writing…

Towards a New Activism to Effectively Support a Transition to a Post-Growth Economy

The Broken Stories of Mainstream Activism To this day, few civil society organisations are promoting the much-needed transition to a new economic system based on the principles of ecological limits, solidarity, human well-being, and intergenerational justice, nor are many organisations embracing the complexity of systemic change in their strategies, campaigns, and projects. Many activists…

Setting Context for the New Story Summit

Kosmos: Please tell us a little about the Findhorn community. Yvonne Cuneo: The Findhorn Foundation is a community of about 120 people that run the learning programs. Yet there is a larger community of which we are a part. The Findhorn Foundation Community has been through many deep community building processes. We’ve laughed together, cried together, had conflict resolution, had dance. I feel…

The New Story Summit: Voice of the Elders

Indigenous elders from around the world open the four directions. From left to right: Ousmane Pame (Senegal), Visolela Rosa Namises (Namibia), Karumbu Ringera (Keyna), Kalani Souza (Hawaii), Pat McCabe (Diné tribe USA) | photography | Hege Sæbjørnsen Kosmos: Satish, what is your perspective on the New Story? Satish Kumar: The New Story will be a story of reunion, reconnection. In the last…

New Story Summit: Africa

The Kosmos team meets with Neema (center): left to right, Nancy Roof, Dot Maver, Rhonda Fabian, Cynthia Jurs (Kosmos author), Tara Stuart Kosmos: You came a long way, Neema. Why did you come to the New Story Summit? Neema Namadamu: I came because they tell me there is a summit about a new story and I’m proud to be part of this new story we are telling for change. Kosmos: What is that…

The New Story Summit: Voices of Youth

Elder, Gigi Coyle, along with Findhorn community child, Aayana Ito, blow out the Summit candle with a blessing for the children. Kosmos: When you were sharing with the group, you said, “I grew up too fast and didn’t know who I was. The drum changed my life.” Will you share that story? Nick Joyce: Absolutely. I was raised cross-culturally, without religious dogma, with a lot of independence…