Andreas Weber will Speak in Great Barrington

On Friday, May 18th at 7:30 PM there will be a public talk by Andreas Weber, German biologist and eco-philosopher, at St. James Place in Great Barrington, MA, followed by a Q&A and book signing. Weber will give a talk as part of the Schumacher Center's Reinventing the Commons Program.

In his talk, titled Aliveness as the Heart of Economics, Ecology, and Commoning, Weber will ask a radical question: “Why is our economy still destroying the environment and creating inequality?” He believes that the culprit might rest on an image of life where the strongest wins and fitness grants success. Biological life, however, is never about winning, but rather an endless celebration of reciprocity. Ecosystems are ways to organize giving that allows for the whole system to flourish and for the individuals to take what they need. Weber argues that only when we understand that this desire for mutuality is inherent in the living world will we be able to tailor an economic culture that does not destroy life but that mimics ecology, enacting what may be seen as a practice of love.

Weber is the author of Matter and Desire, amongst other works. His book will be available for sale at the event.

This event is cosponsored by: Good Work Institute, Kosmos Journal, The Myrin Institute, and Orion Magazine.

Admission is free. To pre-register, email schumacher@centerforneweconomics.org or call (413) 528-1737.

Founded in 1980, the Schumacher Center for a New Economics is a Great Barrington-based educational non-profit organization with an international reputation as a pioneer in shaping new economic models that will allow for the flourishing of a more just and sustainable society. Learn more here

(press release sent to WSBS from the Schumacher Center for a New Economics for online and on-air use, image article used by permission)