Co-intelligent economics is not one thing, nor is
it absolute. It is a guiding vision and sensibility.
To the extent an economic system helps living beings
and living systems meet their deep needs in healthy sustainable
ways - accessing the wisdom and resources of the whole and its parts
on behalf of the whole and its parts - it can be said to be co-intelligent.
This is something to strive for, a standard against which to measure
any given economic activity, system, or proposal.
Economics is about the creation, distribution, and
use of resources, the satisfaction of needs, and the capacity to
pursue one's purposes in life. Most current economic systems are
unduly grounded in materialism, quantification, money, and consumption
- as exemplified by financial speculation, GDP, and vast concentrations
of wealth - channeling resources in ways that all too often impede
the ability of most participants to meet their real needs and pursue
their highest aspirations.
We see signs of co-intelligent economics in sustainable-green
economics, local economics, cooperative economics, gifting and sharing
economics, and the economics of "simple living" that values
relationships, creativity, and joy more than commodities. Many forms
of co-intelligent economics are best practiced in small groups and
communities. But larger economic systems can evolve in co-intelligent
directions with the assistance of online networks for peer-to-peer
collaboration, sharing, and gifting; new forms of credit and complementary
currency; more holistic definitions and measures of economic activity;
and policies that motivate self-interested market behaviors toward
Many forms of co-intelligent economics have existed
for centuries or millennia. In recent decades new, technologically
empowered forms have been emerging with increasing speed. As the
harms of the existing economic order become more obvious to more
individuals, communities and classes, initiatives proliferate to
establish economies that free and satisfy more people with less
threat to nature and the future.
The materials below represent some of our efforts
at the Co-Intelligence Institute to track and make sense of these
important emerging trends and possibilities.
Emerging Economics Wiki
A commons-based map
of economic realms
Emerging EcoNomics series
1: DIY "Makers"
and Resilient Communities
2: The Emerging
New Economy Movement
3: The New Sharing
revolution growing with food
5. Gifting -
and the gift economy
challenge citizenship (and economic survival)
Home || What's
New || Search || Who
We Are || Co-Intelligence
|| Our Work || Projects
|| Contact || Don't
Miss || Articles || Topics
|| Books || Links
|| Subscribe || Take
Action || Donate || Legal
If you have comments about this site, email email@example.com.
Contents copyright © 2012, all rights reserved, with generous
permissions policy (see Legal Notices)