Gotta watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

"An economy based on cooperation, reciprocity and solidarity is an economy of life; It

• overcomes social divisions;



• brings people and resources together for the good of each and every person and community in society;



• demands solidarity with accountability, acknowledging our interconnection with others and the whole creation; . .. . ..



• relies on people taking the responsibility and becoming empowered to manage their own individual and communal livelihoods, chart their own histories and develop their own attributes and potentials;



• replaces capital with people's work, knowledge and creativity as the driving forces of economic activity;



• takes individual and social rights as the reference for planning and implementing development;



• allows individuals, communities and nations to cooperate in building a solidarity-based globalization.

An economy of life is not an end, but a means to make possible the healing and development of persons, societies and the earth. "

This possibility is put forth in the World Council of Churches, "Alternative Globalization Addressing Peoples and Earth; AGAPE", (http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/porto-alegre-2006/3-preparatory-and-background-documents/alternative-globalization-addressing-people-and-earth-agape.html) on page 7, and was a collaborative process of a team of ecumenical and denominational persons, copyrighted in 2005. You can find the whole document on line.

I'm both very interested in this vision and wonder how to live it in our daily decisions about our own $$, our investments, our work, this day. I am wondering whether its a vision and not a reality. How would my work change, my life change, when I believe in this model?

i.e. if a model of my own personal economy seeks to overcome social divisions . . .and if the world today is so divided by class . . what do I do to bridge that . . WITH my $$?

i.e. if a model of my own personal economy is to bring resources and people together for the good of each . . . what does that look like in terms of MY decisions about how to live this day?

i.e. if a model for my own personal economy is that I'm in solidarity AND accountability at all times, acknowledging my connection and interconnection with all of life? Wow. What would that look like when I buy coffee, drink coffee, etc . . .