A
range of new theorists have also increasingly given intellectual muscle
to the movement. Some, like Richard Heinberg, stress the radical
implications of ending economic growth. Former presidential adviser
James Gustav Speth calls for restructuring the entire system as the only
way to deal with ecological problems in general and growth in
particular. David Korten has offered an agenda for a new economy which
stresses small Main Street business and building from the bottom up.
(Korten also co-chairs a “New Economy Working Group” with John Cavanagh
at the Institute of Policy Studies.) Juliet Schor has proposed a vision
of “Plentitude” oriented in significant part around medium-scale, high
tech industry. My own work on a Pluralist Commonwealth emphasizes a
community-building system characterized by a mix of democratized forms
of ownership ranging from small co-ops all the way up to
public/worker-owned firms where large scale cannot be avoided.
The movement obviously confronts the
enormous entrenched power of an American political economic system
dominated by very large banking and corporate interests.
Writers
like Herman Daly and David Bollier have also helped establish
theoretical foundations for fundamental challenges to endless economic
growth, on the one hand, and the need to transcend privatized economics
in favor of a “commons” understanding, on the other. The awarding in
2009 of the Nobel Prize to Elinor Ostrom for work on commons-based
development underlined recognition at still another level of some of the
critical themes of the movement.
Irene V. on 26 May 12Marketing trends in 2012 25 January, 2012 Madeleine Ross comments "Opportunities go begging in a market ripe for the brave," says Deloitte chief marketing officer David Redhill, and that's certainly the attitude of many marketers looking at the next 12 months. In this year's tough economic climate, with financial trouble plaguing most of Europe and the USA, Australian marketers will be cautious, but that doesn't mean they'll stop spending. Local consumers have grown accustomed to being circumspect and are now looking to do business with reliable institutions. According to Commonwealth Bank's chief marketing and online officer, Andy Lark: "if you're trusted and you've got a good brand, you're in a good position." Reports of flailing foreign economies won't wreak the same havoc they used to on the industry, with agencies and clients now looking towards the potential downturn as an opportunity to cleverly and cost-effectively win over customers at their most vulnerable. "There is a lot of caution in the market and we are as circumspect as the next business," says Redhill. "But at the same time marketers who invest in brands in downtime are usually the winners because they will emerge stronger as competitors shrink their budgets and reel in their more expansive plans." The Tontine Group's product development and marketing manager, Lucinda Kew, agrees: "It is actually the brands that invest through difficult times which end up getting the best results because… you're resonating with people and when they get through those difficult times, hopefully you're their brand of choice." More for the same The Commonwealth Bank, bedding manufacturer Tontine and financial advisory firm, Deloitte all plan to maintain their marketing spends this year. That's a relief for agencies, especially in the midst of rumours about a 'race to the bottom' where agencies are fighting for clients and remuneration offers are slumping. But that's not to say brands or agencies can r