Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth (AGENCY/DISTRIBUTED) - Softcover

"It's time for a fundamentally new economic model--Agenda for a New Economy is a much-needed road map for those ready to get started."
--Annie Leonard, author and host of The Story of Stuff

"At last, a book by one of our most brilliant economic thinkers that outlines the real causes of--and solutions to--the current economic crisis."
--John Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

"A thought-provoking, comprehensive, and readable reappraisal of the great economic and market challenge of our time."
--David Brancaccio, PBS host

"Finally a bold Obama-era agenda that soars above the mild reforms that are grabbing daily headlines and actually meets the daunting challenges posed by the Wall Street and planetary crises."
--John Cavanagh, Director, Institute for Policy Studies

"In this new edition of his groundbreaking book, David Korten steps up with a new, practical and energizing guide we all can use to transform today's economic disaster into a Living Democracy."
--Frances Moore Lappé, author of Getting a Grip 2 and Diet for a Small Planet

"What I love about this edition of Agenda for a new Economy is that David Korten brings together previously fragmented ideas about how to move forward into a compelling, cohesive framework for personal, community and government action. This book will get you from 'yes, but how?' to 'yes, and here's how'. "
--Alisa Gravitz, Executive Director, Green America

"David Korten has updated and strengthened an already timely and insightful book. No one has done a better job at bringing together the multiple crises--economic, environmental, social, political--in which we find ourselves today. His vision of the path forward is clear and compelling."
--James Gustave Speth, Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science, former Administrator, United Nations Development Programme, and author of The Bridge at the Edge of the World

"At an urgent moment in human history, David Korten offers a new way to organize our economy that is both inspired and deeply practical. This is a must-read guide to creating a viable future."
--Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher, Institute for Local Self-Reliance; chair, American Independent Business Alliance; and author of Big Box Swindle

"Faith communities at their best help us see and believe in what is possible, and help us face inconvenient truths and uncomfortable realities. At their worst, faith communities kill dreams and reinforce fantasies. David Korten's new book can help all of us who lead and participate in faith communities to fulfill our best potential and stop playing to our worst. It's urgent, important, clear, and downright inspiring, and it challenges us to pursue what is excellent, mature, and real."
--Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity

"David Korten tells the truth like no one else--a truth our planet needs us to hear."
--Marjorie Kelly, cofounder, Corporation 20/20; founding editor, Business Ethics magazine; and author of The Divine Right of Capital

"Korten turns conventional economic thinking upside down and inside out. This book reveals what is really going on in the U.S. and global economy--and what can and should be done about it."
--Van Jones, founder of Green for All and author of The Green Collar Economy

"Just as the global economy crumbles, David Korten's timely plan for a new economy--a locally based living economy--will keep Spaceship Earth on a steady course, while bringing greater equality and strengthening our democratic institutions. And as if that were not enough, it will bring us more joy."
--Judy Wicks, cofounder and chair, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies

"David Korten shows that patching the tires of a vehicle that's going over a cliff is neither sane nor acceptable. But the financial crisis can be a healing crisis, and Korten gives us prescriptions that could actually give us a thriving and just economy that works for people and the planet.
--Vicki Robin, coauthor of Your Money or Your Life and cofounder, Conversation Cafes

"The most important book to emerge thus far on the economic crisis. David Korten provides real solutions."
--Peter Barnes, cofounder, Working Assets, and author of Capitalism 3.0

"A great book. Korten provides solutions far beyond economics. If we care about the health, safety, education, and well-being of our society, and want to create a world with a semblance of social and economic equity, this book is the next big step in that direction."
-- Peter Block, author of Community and Stewardship

"A stirring defense of life and liberty. Guided by the hand of Adam Smith, David Korten paints a spirited picture of a new economy: in bold strokes, from the Earth up, and for all the people. Obama watchers, take note--page after page, redesign trumps reform and shouts, 'Yes, we can!'"
--Raffi Cavoukian, singer, author, entrepreneur, ecology advocate, and founder of Child Honoring

As David Korten showed in the first edition of this hard-hitting book, the steps taken to address the financial meltdown – including pouring trillions of dollars into bailouts for the Wall Street institutions that created the mess – did nothing to deal with the reality of a failed economic system. Korten identified the deeper sources of the failure in Wall Street institutions that have perfected the art of creating money out of nothing, without producing anything of real value in return. Its major players engaged in speculative trading, bought into asset bubbles, stripped corporate assets, created debt pyramids, and engaged in predatory lending in the mortgage and credit card markets.

In this revised second edition, Korten evaluates how far we have come in the year since the first edition's release and traces both the progress made as well as the ongoing setbacks. Korten also explores the transition to Main street and the momentum towards real wealth and how such a movement is manifesting itself across the nation. In a new chapter, Korten examines how the Obama administration has yet to address the root causes of the system failures to avoid ongoing economic, social, and environmental crises.