Posted on Feb 17, 2016 In: Just Third Way Feature | Tagged:
Review by Dr. Dorothy Guyot of The Need for a New Economic System by John Scales Avery.
Opening comments by CESJ President Norman Kurland:
In his November 24, 2015 book The Need for a New Economic System, Dr. John Scales Avery, a scientist whose work enabled the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, persuasively warns of increasing global threats. In calling for a new economic system that could reverse these threats, Avery puts forth goals to which our Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) subscribes:
Our present situation is this: The future looks extremely dark because of human folly, especially the long-term future. The greatest threats are catastrophic climate change and thermonuclear war, but a large-scale global famine also has to be considered. All these threats are linked.
Inaction is not an option. We have to act with courage and dedication, even if the odds are against success, because the stakes are so high. The mass media could mobilize us to action, but they have failed in their duty. Our educational system could also wake us up and make us act, but it too has failed us. The battle to save the earth from human greed and folly has to be fought through non-violent action on the streets and in the alternative media.
We need a new economic system, a new society, a new social contract, a new way of life. Here are the great tasks that history has given to our generation: We must achieve a steady-state economic system. We must restore democracy. We must decrease economic inequality. We must break the power of corporate greed. We must leave fossil fuels in the ground. We must stabilize and ultimately reduce the global population. We must eliminate the institution of war. And finally, we must develop a more mature ethical system to match our new technology.
In a February 2016 exchange with CESJ’s Rob Woodman, Dr. Avery, after reviewing CESJ’s website at www.cesj.org, commented:
After looking at your website, I can see immediately that the excellent goals for which you are working are the same as my goals. I will certainly explore the ways in which we can work together for system change that the world so urgently needs today.
We in CESJ look forward to working with great thinkers and serious activists like Dr. Avery to bring about fundamental system change. We too seek a socio-economic system that could bring forth a more just, liberating and life-enhancing future for every child, woman and man, and help us all become good stewards of the Earth. The new paradigm we call “the Just Third Way,” we believe, can offer sound principles, a unifying vision and effective means to accomplish our common goals.
CESJ is honored to publish the following review by Dr. Dorothy Guyot of Dr. Avery’s latest book The Need for a New Economic System, which has been purchased for the CESJ library.
Please click on: New Economic System
