QEW Pamphlets—Eco-economics / money / currency

Friends, Money, and the Earth, continued

WHAT would our economic behavior look like if we adopted a more "Earth-friendly" view of money and learned how to better use our money to create a better world?

Earning

SHOULD we REDUCE our INCOME?
In his book, Deep Economy, environmental writer and activist Bill McKibben cites recent studies that found only a low positive correlation between happiness and income above what most of us would consider a modest wage. Following the examples of 18th century Quaker John Woolman and many others in our own time, we can gain inward peace and outward integrity, by shifting to livelihoods that require fewer hours of paid work while generating sufficient income for basic needs. We can join programs that help us take back control of our lives through financial discipline, freeing up time to devote our life energy to good work. We can learn from books, join simple living support groups, or take lessons from elders who learned to live with less during the Great Depression.

Spending

CAN we MAKE GREENER PURCHASES? If we pay slightly more to buy from local businesses and farmers, or if we participate in local barter or alternate currency systems, we keep money circulating in the local economy, supporting local jobs and community services. If we buy marginally more expensive products made from recycled materials, we reduce net waste and extraction of nonrenewable resources. If we buy goods that are durable, repairable, and reusable, or if we shop at thrift stores, we reduce our total throughput of energy and materials. If we buy from businesses that we know have good social and environmental track records, we influence how people and the earth are treated in the production of goods and services.

Giving

CAN we GIVE MORE MINDFULLY? Those of us who are fortunate to have enough income for discretionary spending can donate generously to socially and ecologically progressive causes. There is a wide range of options, but we can consider regular financial support to Quaker organizationsincluding Quaker Earthcare Witness, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Right Sharing of World Resources, Friends World Committee for Consultation, and American Friends Service Committeethat are carrying a unified concern for peace, justice, and the integrity of Creation. Automatic monthly withdrawals are particularly helpful, and we can remember them in our wills.

Investing

SHOULD we SHIFT our INVESTMENTS? Using "socially responsible" funds to steer capital toward renewable energy, for instance, can make us part of a powerful "voting bloc" for the kind of world we want to leave to our children. (By 2007, assets in socially screened portfolios had grown to more than $2.7 trillion!) Guidance on such choices can be found in many books and web- sites. See <www.greenmoneyjournal.com/>.

Learning

SHOULD we SEEK MONETARY REFORM? Financial markets need appropriate regulation. But how money is created and gets into circulation also may play a crucial role in the social, economic, and ecological problems facing the world today. Read more inside this pamphlet about why some Friends believe the monetary system needs to be changed to be more consistent with their witness for peace, justice, and Earthcare. •

Further Reading

Brown, Peter G., and Geoffrey Garver. 2009. Right Relationship: Building A Whole Earth Economy. San Francisco: Berrett-Kohler.

Carlyle, Kim, Ed Dreby, and Margaret Mansfield, eds. 2008. Seeds of Violence, Seeds of Hope, Vols. I, II, III., on-line at <www.quakerearthcare.org/Projects/FTE/>.

Dominguez, Joe, and Vicki Robin. 1992. Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence. New York: Penguin Group.

Dreby, Ed. "Money and Growth: Another Inconvenient Truth?" Quaker Eco-Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 2., March-April 2007. Burlington, Vt.: Quaker Earthcare Witness. On-line at <www.quakerearthcare.org/Projects/FTE/>

Friends Journal for July 2006, an entire issue on the theme, "Friends and Money."

Jones, Ellis. 2007. Better World Shopping Guide. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers.

Lester, Richard A. 1939. Monetary Experiments, Early American and Recent Scandinavian. New York: Augustus M. Kelley, reprinted 1970.

Levering, Frank, & Wanda Urbanska. 1993. Simple Living: One Couple's Search for a
Better Life. New York: Penguin Books.

Lietaer, Bernard. 2002. The Future of Money: Creating New Wealth, Work and a Wiser World. Evergreen, Colo.: Century Books.

McKibben, Bill. 2007. Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

Zarlenga, Stephen. 2002. The Lost Science of Money: The Mythology of Money—the Story of Power. Valatie, N.Y.: American Monetary Inst. http://www.monetary.org.

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