This editor's letter was first published in Stir Magazine, Summer 2023. To support our journalism, purchase this issue or an annual subscription.
Once again we're all facing real political instability and economic pressure, made worse by huge wealth inequalities, rocketing prices, an endless housing crisis, and persistent failure to take real action on climate. For all the promises from our politicians about bouncing back, levelling up, and sharing prosperity, it’s just not happening for most of us.
But despite crisis after crisis, new economic ideas are still too rarely known across the UK, so we’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the free publication and mass circulation of ABCs of the New Economy – an accessible ‘primer’ to inspire a post-pandemic movement. This special edition will feature more than a decade of ideas and tools from the inspiring contributors to our quarterly magazine.
Why? We all know that despite the initial optimism about a large- scale reconfiguration of our economy during the pandemic, we’ve not seen a reaction anywhere near the mass movement response to the 2008 financial crisis. Equally, though, there’s almost always a delayed reaction to such events, and there is a possibility that the sense of agency in mutual aid groups and other community initiatives may become a more long-term intervention.
For this to happen, we need more democratic businesses, community infrastructure, and more inclusive ways to reshape our economy. If you can be a part of a growing movement to transform local economies, take a look at our campaign and make a pledge – crowdfunder.co.uk/abcs-of-the-new-economy
