Economy for the Common Good

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= concept, accounting method, movement, and film


Concept

"The current ecological, social and economic crisis requires a bold and strong vision and people who actively participate in developing a sustainable future. In that sense, the Economy for the Common Good (ECG) movement understands itself as an initiator and inspirational force for far-reaching change. In a democratic and participatory process, the ECG works towards an economic system which places the Common Good at the center of all economic activity." (https://www.ecogood.org/en/information/idea-behind-economy-common-good)


Movement

see: https://www.ecogood.org/en/information/ecg-movement


Discussion

Christian Felber:

"When contemplating whether or not it is possible to build a commons economy, we also should not forget that today we live in the frame of a capitalist economy, and a complete reshuffling of our world might not be feasible in the short-run. Moreover, it might not even be necessary: in Germany alone we have 4 million companies – and in Austria 400.000; it would not be a good idea to convert all of them into commons, especially if there are companies among them that don’t cause harm to the environment or to our society, such as the “GLS Bank”, the organic bakery “Märkisches Landbrot”, or the “Regionalwert AG” which is a project similar to CSA (community supported agriculture), but formally a shareholder company.

Not to mention that there are some limits to the theory that have not been addressed by the commons community. The best way to go would be the marriage between a number of alternative economic approaches (such as the commons, the solidary economy, the degrowth network, and others), within the democratic framework of the Economy for the Common Good (ECG).

The ECG is a holistic, alternative economic model which envisions a free market economy, in which the common good is the ultimate goal of economic activity. It strives to dissolve the contradiction between the values held by many business interests (such as profit maximization and competition) and values held by society in general such as solidarity, sustainability, or democracy. Proponents of the ECG believe that the values and goals laid down in most Western constitutions can and should be implemented in business practices, so that the current economic order won’t contradict anymore the spirit of these constitutions. A good example of the principles underlying such an economy can be found in the Italian constitution: “Public and private economic activity should be oriented to the common good,” while the Bavarian Constitution says: “The economic activity in its entirety serves the common good.”

Economic success should be measured according to a company’s contribution to the common good. Businesses should be rewarded for practices that improve their compliance to human rights, social justice, and environmental protection. This should be done by measuring their contribution with a so called common good balance sheet (already used by 400 ethical businesses in Europe), which looks at how a business’s activities advance or harm human dignity, solidarity, justice, ecological sustainability, and democracy through evaluating whether products and services satisfy human needs, whether companies’ working conditions are humane, the production processes are environmentally-friendly, etc. It then informs consumers, employees, business partners, and government agencies of the companies’ social and environmental performance (relative to its business-related activities)." (http://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/collaboration-is-just-a-strategy-overcoming-the-limits-of-commons/)

Accounting Method

see: Common Good Balance Sheet‎‎


Film

URL = http://ecg-documentary.com

Project Description

Gonzalo Miranda Carrera:

"AttacTV Team and Production Film Cooperative La Antena works since late 2011 in the production of a documentary [1] on the Economy for the Common Good [2] proposal by Christian Felber of Attac Austria.

The aim of the film points to get to know this proposal and the process where many people and companies are involved. Film emphasizes on human experiences, personal and collective, that are applied in Europe. The ECG proposal has generated a great impact and debate in Europe and Latin America. So we want to dig into the process of change that, for many, has already begun."


Status

We are writing to ask for your support and the support of your organization for the crowdfunding campaign to make this documentary.


Discussion

  • ORIGIN OF THE DOCUMENTARY*

In September 2011, an Attac TV team and the production cooperative, La Antena <http://bit.ly/15jPjej>, went to Freiburg, for the Summer University of Attac Europe, to record some interviews. *One of the most outstanding was Christian Felber's video, the founder of Attac Austria and the author of `The Economy for the Common Good`*. In 15 minutes, Felber revealed the main lines of the ECG, an alternative economic and social development model to neoliberalism in which human values take precedence, a model that hundreds of companies and persons have already put into practice all over Europe.

The interview had a wide impact, as well as the ECG proposal, which led to a rare and extremely interesting debate. We thus *decided to show this personal and collective changes processes in a documentary*. We need support to produce it, a support we collect through our specific web platform <http://bit.ly/VjV8qq>.


  • THE PRESENT STATE OF THE DOCUMENTARY*

The objective of the film is to *know more the ECG paradigm*. More than anything, it is also about the human experiences linked to this paradigm becoming reality in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.

In 2012, we had a close look at this process in Spain. In October, we were in Austria where we interviewed the people developing this model and turning it into practice, even before the theory of Felber and his team.*The ECG is different in that it is based on mechanisms and principles endorsed by case studies*. This is why it is a viable and interesting alternative.


  • ¿THE FUTURE...? *

To keep creating this film, *we need to raise minimum funds for a high quality work*. We have launched a web platform which help us in our fundraising efforts. It can receive donations through *bank transfer or Paypal and debit card payments <http://bit.ly/VjV8qq>*.


More Information

<http://ecg-documentary.com/> , where you can find all the info about the film, some videos and news.

And these are the links of the first videos of the campaign;

  1. Happy? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myP40nX5Gio
  2. The unhappiness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TAuVqqbkWo
  3. The Common Good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGUdc_ozShQ


More Information

see the book: Creating an Economy for the Common Good‎