Quakers revive ‘New Economy’ work
Quakers in Switzerland are seeking to learn from British Friends
Quakers in Switzerland are seeking to learn from British Friends who were involved in Britain Yearly Meeting’s (BYM) ‘New Economy’ work.
From 2014 to 2017, BYM commissioned experts in new economic thinking to share their knowledge in a series of seven booklets. Following their launch in 2016, many Friends ran ‘New Economy’ reading groups in their Local Meetings. The booklets looked at subjects including: ‘energy’; ‘the role of markets’; ‘ownership’; and ‘money, banks and finance in the new economy’.
BYM’s Faith in Action newsletter said the team had received an email from Quakers in Switzerland saying they would like to speak to people still engaged with this witness, or those who had run reading groups.
At its height, around fifty New Economy groups sprang up across the country. One North London New Economy group was invited by a Labour MP to write for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Inclusive Growth.
Sue Newsom, from Winchmore Hill Meeting, was asked by Liam Byrne’s office to write for the APPG after members of the New Economy group met with the MP in November 2018. In the blog ‘Rethinking a New Economy’, published on the APPG website on 7 March 2019, Sue Newsom called for ‘reform of our banking and financial systems’. ‘Maybe we need to return to the core purposes of the financial system and start from there,’ she said.
The booklets are still available on the Quakers in Britain website.
Comments
We in Manchester and Warrington AQM had a book group reading Kate Raworth’s “Doughnut Economics.”
By ElizabethC on 3rd October 2024 - 8:36
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