From Wealth Supremacy to Community Wealth Building: Models for Democratizing the Economy

Today’s corporate, capitalist economy is radically unequal, ecologically unsustainable, and embedded in recurring boom-and-bust cycles of crisis. Not surprisingly, people are looking for alternatives. What if, instead of tweaking the system to reduce the damage, we reorganized entirely so that both local and national economies produced better outcomes for people, communities and the planet in the first place? 

That’s the essence of community wealth building, the focus of this episode with guest host Laura Flanders, featuring Democracy Collaborative Distinguished Senior Fellow, Marjorie Kelly; Preston City Council Member, Matthew Brown in the UK; and community wealth building adviser to the Scottish Government, Neil McInroy.

This episode is part 2 of a 4-part series exploring how communities are working to transform their local economies by harnessing their assets, anchoring capital and resources locally to directly invest in that place and its people – from land to money and finance. Explore the full series here.

Resources

Democracy Collaborative

Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and The Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today's Crises

Action Guide for Advancing Community Wealth Building in the United States | Democracy Collaborative

Gar Alperovitz – Replacing Corporate Capitalism: Why We Need a Next System | Bioneers 2018 Keynote

Our Economic Future: Achieving a More Equitable Society by Radically Rethinking Our Guiding Economic Ideas | Bioneers Reader

Guest Host

Laura Flanders is the host and executive producer of Laura Flanders & Friends, which airs on PBS stations nationwide. She is an Izzy-Award winning independent journalist, a New York Times bestselling author and the recipient of the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Media Center.

Credits

This series is co-produced by Bioneers and Laura Flanders & Friends

Laura Flanders & Friends Producers: Laura Flanders and Abigail Handel

Production Assistance: Jeannie Hopper and David Neumann

Bioneers Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel

Senior Producer: Stephanie Welch

Producer: Teo Grossman

Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey

Program Engineer and Music Supervisor: Emily Harris