The NexT sysTem A call for national discussion and debate

A call for national discussion and debate by Gar Alperovitz, James Gustave Speth, Jane Mansbridge, Sarita Gupta, Bill McKibben, Danny Glover, Barbara Ehrenreich, Leo Gerard, Annie Leonard, Robert B.

Reich, Noam Chomsky, Anuradha Mittal, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Ralph Nader, Manuel Pastor, Erik Olin Wright, Phyllis Bennis, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Oliver Stone, Nancy Fraser, Dean Baker, Gerald Torres, John James

Conyers, Jr., Jill Stein, Herman E. Daly, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, William Greider, Frances Fox Piven, Juliet Schor, Larry Cohen, Medea Benjamin, Timothy E. Wirth, Emily Kawano, Saru Jayaraman, Jeff

Faux, Heather McGhee, James Mumm, Joseph Blasi, Paul S. Adler, Richard Falk, Seymour Hersh, Daniel Ellsberg, Will Raap, Gerald Hudson, May Boeve, L. Hunter Lovins, Jose Zapata Calderon, Deepak Bhargava,

Lawrence Mishel, Angela Glover Blackwell, James Counts Early, Chuck Collins, Maya Schenwar, Heather Booth, Robin Hahnel, Dayna Cunningham, J. Phillip Thompson, George Goehl, Saskia Sassen, Kai Bird,

Marcus Raskin, David Korten, Marta Ceroni, Carole Pateman, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Jessica Gordon Nembhard, David W. Orr, Sonia E. Sachs, Alexis Goldstein, Michael Albert, Mark Weisbrot, J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Julie Matthaei, Christopher Jencks, Robert W. McChesney, Neva Goodwin, C. Otto Scharmer, Richard Heinberg,

Bob Massie, Ron Blackwell, Vijay Prashad, Fran Korten, Jeffrey Hollender, Joe Uehlein, Juanita Valdez-Cox, Richard D. Wolff, John Cavanagh, Greg Grandin, James K. Boyce, Robert Costanza, Peter Kuznick, john a.

powell, Susan Witt, Lester Brown, Raj Patel, Carlos Pérez de Alejo, John Bellamy Foster, Michael Kazin, Dick Mazess, Stacy Mitchell, Paul Raskin, Joel Rogers, Peter Marcuse, Michael C. Dawson, Todd Gitlin,

Jerry Mander, Anna Galland, Aaron Tanaka, Ed Whitfield, Peter Barnes, L. Randall Wray, Saket Soni, David Schweickart, Judy Wicks, Michelle Long, Christian Parenti, Gayle McLaughlin, Peter G. Brown, & many others.

IT’s TIme To Face The DepTh

oF The sysTemIc crIsIs

We coNFroNTthenextsystem.org

The following statement was developed with input from a small group of initial signatories whose names are included in the statement. They have been joined by many more—activists, policymakers, practitioners, business people, and scholars from across disciplines—in spelling out the systemic nature of the current crisis we face as a society and the urgent need to think in terms of systemic solutions.

It’s time for everyone who cares about our troubled country to face the depth of the

systemic crisis we now confront as a nation. We must step back from the daily fray and

ask: How do we actually get on a path to the kind of society—and world—we’d like now

and for future generations? We must begin a real conversation—locally, nationally, and at

all levels in between—on how to respond to the profound challenge of our time in history.

“If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending,” Lincoln said, “we could

better judge what to do.” Today’s answer to Lincoln’s charge is grim. If one looks at “where

we are” among advanced democracies across more than a score of key indicators of

national well-being—including relative poverty, inequality, education, social mobility, health,

environment, militarization, democracy, and more—we find ourselves exactly where we

don’t want to be: at or near the bottom.

The challenging realities of growing inequality, political stalemate, and climate disruption

prompt an important insight. When big problems emerge across the entire spectrum of

national life, it cannot be due to small reasons. When the old ways no longer produce

the outcomes we are looking for, something deeper is occurring. We have fundamental

problems because of fundamental flaws in our economic and political system. The crisis

now unfolding in so many ways across our country amounts to a systemic crisis.

Today’s political economic system is not programmed to secure the wellbeing of people,

place and planet. Instead, its priorities are corporate profits, the growth of GDP, and the

projection of national power. If we are to address the manifold challenges we face in a

serious way, we need to think through and then build a new political economy that takes

us beyond the current system that is failing all around us. However difficult the task,

however long it may take, systemic problems require systemic solutions.

The social pain arising from the economic crisis, the steady unfolding of the climate

calamity, and many other deeply troubling developments have made it possible to pose

the question of large-scale system change in a serious fashion in the United States. Yet,

despite this new space for a debate about fundamental change, challenges to the system

have until recently been constrained by a continuing lack of imagination concerning

social, economic and political alternatives. It is said that the existing system is the only

possibility, one we must accept and work with—that, as Margaret Thatcher famously

insisted, “There is no alternative.” But she had it wrong.

The good news is that the inability of traditional politics and policies to address

fundamental challenges has fueled an extraordinary amount of experimentation in

communities across the United States—and around the world. It has also generated an

increasing number of sophisticated and thoughtful proposals for transformative change.

Together these developments suggest that it is possible to build a new and better America

beyond the failed systems of the past and present.

Indeed, new terms have begun to gain currency among diverse social movements and

activist communities—an indication that the domination of traditional thinking has already

started to weaken. Thus we encounter the sharing economy, the caring economy, the

solidarity economy, the restorative economy, the regenerative economy, the sustaining

economy, the resilient economy, and, of course, the new economy. There is talk of the need

for a great transition. Several of these approaches already have significant networks and

thoughtful research efforts underway. New thinking by creative scholars and members of

the labor movement and community-oriented advocates is also contributing to the ferment.

It is time for Americans to think boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic

difficulties facing the United States. It is time to explore genuine alternatives and new

models—“the next system.” It is time to debate what it will take to move our country to a

very different place, one where outcomes that are truly sustainable, equitable, and

democratic are commonplace.

Those of us signing this statement are committed to working towards these ends.

Gar AlperovitzCo-Founder

The Democracy Collaborative Co-Chair, The Next System

Project

Hilary AbellCo-Founder

Project Equity

Dean AbrahamsonProfessor Emeritus of Energy

and Environmental PolicyUniversity of Minnesota

Frank AckermanLecturer

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Senior EconomistSynapse Energy Economics

Paul S. AdlerProfessor of Management and

OrganizationUniversity of Southern California

James Gustave SpethBoard MemberThe New Economy CoalitionCo-Chair, The Next System Project

Kali AkunoCoordinator Cooperation Jackson OrganizerMalcolm X Grassroots Movement

Michael AlbertCo-Founder Z CommunicationsCo-AuthorParticipatory Economy vision

Lindsey AllenExecutive DirectorRainforest Action Network 

Patrick Almonrode350NYC

Rev. Dr. Jim AntalConference Minister, President Massachusetts ConferenceUnited Church of Christ

Angela AtwoodExecutive Director

College Houses

Robert U. AyresProfessor of Environmental

Management, Center for the Management of the

Environment and ResourcesINSEAD - Institut Européen

d’Administration des Affaires

Jay Thomas Bad Heart BullPresident and CEO

Native American Community Development Institute

Gianpaolo BaiocchiDirector, Urban Democracy Lab

New York University

Dean BakerCo-Director

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Gopal BalakrishnanAssociate Professor

History of Consciousness Department

University of California, Santa Cruz

Jill BamburgPresidentBainbridge Graduate InstitutePinchot University

Aman BanerjiCommunity ManagerRoosevelt Institute Campus Network

Peter BarnesAuthorWith Liberty and Dividends for All

Ed BarryDirectorSustainable World InitiativeSustainable Living AdviserPopulation Institute

Allison BasileCo-FounderImpact Hub DC

Ben BeachyResearch DirectorGlobal Trade Watch Public Citizen

Medea BenjaminCo-FounderCODEPINK

Phyllis BennisFellow, Institute for Policy Studies

Fellow, Transnational Institute

Suzanne BergeronProfessor of Womens’ Studies

and Social Sciences University of Michigan Dearborn

Elaine BernardExecutive Director, Labor and

Worklife ProgramHarvard Law School

Rajasvini BhansaliExecutive Director

International Development Exchange

Deepak BhargavaExecutive Director

Center for Community Change

Keane BhattJournalist, Activist

Kai BirdAuthor, Biographer

Angela Glover BlackwellFounder and CEO

PolicyLink

Ron BlackwellFormer Chief EconomistUNITE and AFL-CIO

Joseph BlasiJ. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor, School of Manage-ment and Labor Relations Rutgers University

May BoeveCo-Founder and Executive Director350.org

Heather BoothDemocracy Partners

Craig BorowiakAssociate Professor of Political Science Haverford College

James K. BoyceProfessor of EconomicsUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst

Jessica BrackmanBoard MemberNew Economy Coalition

J. Alan BrewsterChair, Energy Advisory Board

City of Milford, ConnecticutFormer Deputy Dean

School of Forestry & Environ-mental Studies, Yale University

Former Senior Vice President World Resources Institute

Robin BroadProfessor, School of

International Service American University

Ellen H. BrownPresident Emeritus, Founder

and Senior AdvisorPublic Banking Institute

Lester R. BrownPresident and Founder

Earth Policy Institute

Peter G. BrownProfessor, School of

Environment, and Departments of Geography and Natural Resource

SciencesMcGill University

John BurroughsExecutive DirectorLawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy

Dallas BurtrawDarius Gaskins Senior Fellow Associate DirectorCenter for Climate and Electricity Policy Resources for the Future

Marco ButtazzoniClimate Change Mitigation and Sustainability AdvisorOwner, Buttazzoni Consulting

Jacqueline CabassoExecutive DirectorWestern States Legal Foundation

Jose Zapata CalderonEmeritus Professor of Sociology and Chicano/a and Latino/a StudiesPitzer College

Katie CampbellFounder and Executive DirectorAynah

John CavanaghDirector

Institute for Policy Studies

Marta CeroniExecutive Director

Donella Meadows Institute

Karen ChappleProfessor, City and Regional Planning

Interim Director, Institute of Urban and Regional Development

Faculty Director, Center for Community Innovation

Co-Chair, Master of City Planning Program

University of California, Berkeley

Theresa ChelikowskyExecutive Director

Florida Alliance of Community Development Corporations, Inc.

Noam ChomskyInstitute Professor, Professor of

Linguistics EmeritusMassachusetts Institute of

Technology

Leslie ChristianInvestment Advisor

Leslie E Christian LLC

Tiy ChungResearcherSCORAI

Christina A. ClampProfessor, School of Arts and SciencesDirector, Ph.D. Program, Com-munity Economic Development Director, Center for Co-operatives & CEDSouthern New Hampshire University

Mary M. ClevelandAdjunct Professor of Environmental EconomicsSchool of International and Public AffairsColumbia University

Jaimie CloudPresidentCloud Institute for Sustainability Education

David CobbNational SpokespersonMove to Amend

Larry CohenPresident

Communications Workers of America

Maurie CohenAssociate Professor and

Director, Program in Science, Technology & Society

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Jonathan CohnManaging Editor

Great Transition InitiativeTellus Institute

Peter ColavitoDirector, Government Relations

Service Employees International Union

Romand ColesFrances B. McAllister Endowed Chair

Director, Program for Community, Culture and

EnvironmentNorthern Arizona University

Chuck CollinsSenior ScholarInstitute for Policy StudiesCo-FounderWealth for the Common Good

Melvyn ColónExecutive DirectorSouthside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance

Ken ConcaProfessor, School of International Service American University

Representative John James Conyers, Jr.Member of Congress (D)Thirteenth District, Michigan

Christine G. CorderoProgram DirectorCenter for Story-Based Strategy

Teresa CórdovaDirector, Great Cities InstituteUniversity of Illinois at Chicago

Jose CoronaChief Executive OfficerInner City Advisors (ICA)

Robert CostanzaProfessor of Public Policy

Australian National UniversityEditor-in-Chief, Solutions

Harvey CoxHollis Research Professor of

Divinity Harvard University

Reid CramerDirector, Asset Building Program

New America Foundation

Charlie CrayResearch Specialist

Greenpeace

Ronnie CumminsDirector

Organic Consumers Association

Dayna CunninghamExecutive Director, Community

Innovators Lab (CoLab) Massachusetts Institute of

Technology

Elliott CurrieProfessor of Criminology, Law

and Society University of California, Irvine

Brian CzechPresidentCenter for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Herman E. DalyProfessor EmeritusSchool of Public PolicyUniversity of Maryland

Bob DandrewDirector, Local Economies Project New World Foundation

Gerald DavisWilbur K. Pierpont Collegiate Professor of ManagementUniversity of Michigan

Michael C. DawsonJohn D. MacArthur Professor ofPolitical Science and College Director, Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and CultureUniversity of Chicago

Gopal DayaneniCollective MemberMovement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project

John de GraafExecutive Director

Take Back Your Time

sProfessor of Sociology

University of Coimbra (Portugal)Distinguished Legal Scholar

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Peter DreierDr. E.P. Clapp Distinguished

Professor of PoliticsChair, Urban and Environmental

Policy DepartmentOccidental College

Roxanne Dunbar-OrtizProfessor Emerita

California State University

Riley E. DunlapDresser Professor and Regents

Professor of SociologyOklahoma State University

Ethan EarleProject Manager, North America

Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung New York Office

Advisory Board MemberThe Working World

James Counts EarlyBoard of TrusteesInstitute for Policy Studies

Farhad A. EbrahimiFounder and Trustee ChairThe Chorus Foundation

David EhrenfeldDistinguished Professor of BiologyRutgers University

Barbara EhrenreichAuthor

Michael EisenscherNational CoordinatorUS Labor Against the War

Daniel EllsbergAuthor, Whistleblower

Gerald EpsteinProfessor of Economics and Co-Director, Political Economy Research Institute University of MassachusettsAmherst

Boaventura de Sousa Santos

Jon D. EricksonProfessor of Ecological EconomicsFellow, Gund Institute for Eco-

logical EconomicsUniversity of Vermont

Sara Day EvansFounding Director

Accelerating AppalachiaCo-Founder

Prosperity Collective

Elena FairleyProgram and Communications

DirectorProspera Co-ops

Richard FalkMilbank Professor of

International Law EmeritusPrinceton University

Joshua FarleyProfessor, Community Develop-

ment and Applied Economics and Public Administration

University of Vermont

Anika FassiaDirector of Outreach

Public Works

Jeff FauxFounder and Distinguished FellowEconomic Policy InstituteAuthorThe Servant Economy

Richard FeldmanJames and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership

Deeohn FerrisPresident and FounderSustainable Community Development Group

Eric M. FinkAssociate Professor of LawElon University

Lorenzo FioramontiProfessor of Political EconomyUniversity of Pretoria (South Africa)DirectorCentre for the Study of Governance Innovation

Richard FlacksProfessor of SociologyUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

Bill Fletcher, Jr.Senior Scholar

Institute for Policy Studies

Margaret FlowersCo-Director

It’s Our EconomyA project of PopularResistance

William E. ForbathLloyd M. Bentsen Chair in Law

Associate Dean of Research, School of Law

Professor of HistoryUniversity of Texas Austin

John Bellamy FosterProfessor of Sociology

University of Oregon

Nancy FraserHenry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Politics and

Philosophy New School for Social Research

Omar FreillaCoordinator

Green Worker Cooperatives

George FridayLeadership Team Member and Co-Founder Move to AmendNational Planning Committee MemberUS Social Forum

Deborah FriezeFounding PartnerBoston Impact Initiative

John FullertonFounder and PresidentCapital Institute

Anna GallandExecutive DirectorMoveOn.org Civic Action

Douglas GambleMember, Board of Directors Manufacturing Renaissance

Laura GangCoordinator, Greater Boston Move to Amend

Herbert J. GansRobert S. Lynd Professor Emeritus SociologyColumbia University

Dave GardnerFilmmaker, Growthbusters

Leo GerardInternational President

United Steelworkers

Todd GitlinProfessor of Journalism and

Sociology Chair, PhD Program in Communications

Columbia University

Danny GloverActor, Social Activist

Tim Glynn-BurkeAssociate Director of

Democratic Governance and Student Programs, Ash Center

for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Harvard University

George GoehlExecutive Director

National People’s Action

Alexis GoldsteinWriter, Activist

Communications DirectorThe Other 98%

Eban GoodsteinDirector, MBA in SustainabilityDirector, Center for Environmental PolicyBard College

Neva GoodwinCo-Director, Global Development and Environment InstituteTufts University

Linda GordonUniversity Professor of the HumanitiesFlorence Kelley Professor of HistoryNew York University

Greg GrandinProfessor of HistoryNew York University

Alisa GravitzPresidentGreen America

William GreiderNational Affairs CorrespondentThe Nation

John A. GrimSenior Lecturer and Senior

Research ScholarYale School of Forestry and

Environmental Studies

Christopher GunnProfessor of Economics EmeritusHobart and William Smith Colleges

Sarita GuptaExecutive DirectorJobs With Justice

Robin HahnelProfessor Emeritus

American UniversityVisiting Professor

Portland State University

Gwendolyn HallsmithExecutive Director

Public Banking InstituteFounder, Global Community

Initiatives and Vermonters for a New Economy

Ian F. Haney-LópezJohn H. Boalt Professor of Law

University of California, Berkeley

Hildegarde HannumBoard of DirectorsSchumacher Center for a New Economics

Rev. Fletcher HarperExecutive DirectorGreenFaith

Keith HarringtonCo-FounderInternational Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics

Lisa HasegawaExecutive DirectorNational Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development

Paul HawkenAuthorFounder, Project Drawdown

Randy HayesExecutive DirectorFoundation Earth

Richard HeinbergSenior Fellow-in-ResidencePost Carbon Institute

Seymour HershJournalist

Rita Axelroth HodgesAssistant Director, Netter Center

for Community PartnershipsPenn Program for Public Service

School of Arts and SciencesUniversity of Pennsylvania

Jeffrey HollenderFounder and Chief

Executive Officer Sustain

Co-Founder and former Chief Executive Officer

Seventh Generation

Melissa HooverInterim Executive Director

US Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Founding DirectorDemocracy at Work Institute

Louise A. HowellsProfessor of Law

UDC David A. Clarke School of Law

Gerald HudsonInternational Executive Vice PresidentService Employees International Union

Joshua HumphreysPresident and Senior FellowCroatan Institute

Leah Hunt-HendrixCo-FounderSolidaireBoard MemberNew Economy Coalition

Jonathan T. Isham, Jr.DirectorCenter for Social Entrepreneurship Professor of EconomicsMiddlebury College

Nick IuvieneProgram DirectorJust Urban EconomiesMIT Community Innovators Lab

Janine JacksonProgram DirectorFairness & Accuracy In Reporting

Sushil JacobDirector

Green-Collar Communities Clinic (GC3), East Bay Community Law

CenterBerkeley Law

David JacobsAssociate Professor of Labor,

Business and SocietyGraves School of Business and

ManagementMorgan State University

Saru JayaramanCo-Founder and Co-Director

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

Director Food Labor Research Center

University of CaliforniaBerkeley

Christopher JencksMalcolm Wiener Professor of

Social PolicyHarvard University

Christina A. JenningsExecutive Director

Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund

Anne R. KapuscinskiSherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Sustainability ScienceDartmouth College

Jenny KassanChief Executive OfficerCutting Edge Capital

John B. KasselPresidentConservation Law Foundation

Tim KasserProfessor of PsychologyKnox College

J. Kēhaulani KauanuiAssociate Professor of American Studies and AnthropologyWesleyan University

Emily KawanoCoordinatorU.S. Solidarity Economy NetworkStaff EconomistCenter for Popular Economics

Michael KazinProfessor of History

Georgetown UniversityCo-Editor

Dissent Magazine

Esteban KellyStaff Leadership Team

New Economy CoalitionBoard Member

National Cooperative Business Association

Marjorie KellySenior Fellow

The Democracy Collaborative

Lee KetelsenCoordinator

Shamus KhanAssociate Professor of Sociology

Columbia University

David KortenFounder and President

Living Economies Forum

Fran KortenExecutive Director and Publisher

YES! Magazine

Nicolas KosoyAssistant Professor, School of Environment and Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill University

Dan KovalikAdjunct Professor, International Human RightsUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Law

Benjamin KunkelAuthorUtopia or Bust: A Guide to the Present Crisis

Peter KuznickProfessor of HistoryDirector, Nuclear Studies Institute American University

Alnoor LadhaExecutive DirectorThe Rules

Erik LampmannResearcher, Activist

Marilyn LangloisCo-Founder

Richmond Progressive AllianceRichmond, California Planning

Commissioner

Annie LeonardAuthor

The Story of StuffExecutive Director

Greenpeace USA

Rabbi Michael LernerEditor

Tikkun MagazineChair

Network of Spiritual Progressives

Andrea LeverePresident

Corporation for Enterprise Development

Ariana LevinsonAssociate Professor of Law

University of Louisville

Mark LevinsonChief Economist

Service Employees International Union

Andrew LichtermanSenior Research AnalystWestern States Legal Foundation

Alison LinganeCo-FounderProject Equity

Penn LohLecturer and Director of Community PracticeDepartment of Urban and Environmental Policy and PlanningTufts University

Michelle LongExecutive DirectorBusiness Alliance for Local Living Economies

Roberto LovatoWriter, Visiting ScholarCenter for Latino Policy ResearchUniversity of California, Berkeley

Thomas E. LovejoyUniversity Professor of Environmental Science and PolicyGeorge Mason University

Central Massachusetts Move to Amend

Author, Playwright, Executive Producer

L. Hunter LovinsPresident

Natural Capitalism Solutions

Stephanie LuceProfessor of Labor Studies

Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education

CUNY School of Professional Studies

Paul LussierPresident

Me2U MediaLecturer

Yale College

Christopher MackinFounder and President

Ownership Associates, Inc.

Jerry ManderFounder and Distinguished

FellowInternational Forum on

Globalization

Gabriel MandujanoFounder

Wash Cycle Laundry Inc.

Jane MansbridgeAdams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic ValuesHarvard University

Ben ManskiPresidentLiberty Tree Foundationfor the Democratic Revolution

Peter MarcuseProfessor Emeritus of Urban Planning Columbia University

Abby MartinFounderMediaRoots.org

Rania MasriAssociate DirectorAsfari Institute for Civil Society and CitizenshipAmerican University in Beirut

Bob MassieMinister, Activist, Non-Profit Executive

Julie MatthaeiProfessor of Economics

Wellesley CollegeBoard Member

U.S. Solidarity Economy NetworkCo-Coordinator, Boston Area Solidarity Economy Network

Cornerstone Cohousing

Dick MazessEmeritus Professor of

Medical Physics University of Wisconsin, Madison

Robert W. McChesneyGutgsell Endowed Professor of

CommunicationUniversity of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign

Heather McCullochManager, Tax Policy Project

Asset Funders Network

Heather McGheePresident

Demos

Bill McKibbenCo-Founder and Senior Advisor

350.org

Gayle McLaughlinCouncilmember and Two-term MayorCity of Richmond, California

Repa MekhaPresident and CEONexus Community Partners

Pam McMichaelExecutive DirectorHighlander Research and Education Center

Zia MianProgram on Science and Global SecurityPrinceton University

Lawrence MishelPresidentEconomic Policy Institute

Stacy MitchellDirectorCommunity-Scaled Economy InitiativeCo-DirectorInstitute for Local Self-Reliance

Author, Playwright, Executive Producer

Anuradha MittalExecutive Director

The Oakland Institute

Marissa MommaertsCommunications Manager

Transition US

Yolanda T. MosesProfessor of Anthropology

University of California Riverside

Jamal Mubdi-BeyDirector, Office of Community

Outreach Sojourner-Douglass College

James MummStaff Director

National People’s Action

Caryn McTighe MusilSenior Scholar and Director of Civic Learning and Democracy

InitiativesOffice of the President

Association of American Colleges and Universities

Ralph NaderConsumer Advocate, Author,

Former Presidential Candidate

Bruce NelsonEmeritus Professor of HistoryDartmouth College

Jessica Gordon NembhardProfessor of Community Justice and Social Economic DevelopmentDirector, McNair Post-Baccalau-reate Achievement Program,Department of Africana StudiesCity University of New York

Thomas NewmarkCo-Founder and ChairThe Carbon Underground

Helena Norberg-HodgeDirectorLocal Futures / International Society for Ecology and CultureAuthorAncient FuturesProducerThe Economics of Happiness

Richard B. NorgaardProfessor Emeritus of Energy and ResourcesUniversity of California, Berkeley

Bertell OllmanProfessor of PoliticsNew York University

David W. OrrPaul Sears Distinguished Pro-

fessor of Environmental Studies and Politics

Oberlin College

Noel OrtegaNew Economy Working Group

CoordinatorInstitute for Policy Studies

Richard L. OttingerDean Emeritus

Pace Law School

Thomas PalleySenior Economic Policy Adviser

AFL-CIOResearch Associate

Economic Policy Institute

Christian ParentiFaculty, Global Liberal Studies

New York University

Manuel PastorProfessor of Sociology and American Studies and EthnicityDirector, Program for Environ-mental and Regional EquityUniversity of Southern California

Raj PatelResearch ProfessorLyndon B. Johnson School of Public AffairsUniversity of Texas, Austin

Carole PatemanDistinguished Professor Emeritus of Political ScienceUCLA

Michael Alden PeckCo-Founder1worker1vote.org

David Pellow Don A. Martindale Professor of Sociology University of Minnesota

Antonio PérezSecretary-Executive DirectorHousing Authority of the City of Milwaukee

Francisco PerezActivist

Carlos Pérez de AlejoCo-Director

Cooperation Texas

Tova PerlmutterPrincipal

Engine of Progress

Sarah M. PikeDirector of Partnerships

Common Enterprise Development Corporation

Frances Fox PivenDistinguished Professor of

Political Science The Graduate Center

City University of New York

Brenda PlattCo-Director

Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Rachel PlattusDirector of Youth and Student

OrganizingNew Economy Coalition

Alicia PlerhoplesAssociate Professor of LawDirector, Social Enterprise and Nonprofit Law ClinicGeorgetown University Law Center

john a. powellDirector, Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive SocietyProfessorUniversity of California, Berkeley

Joni PradedSenior EditorChelsea Green Publishing

Vijay PrashadGeorge and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian HistoryProfessor of International StudiesTrinity College

Will RaapFounder and ChairmanGardener’s SupplyCo-ChairNew Economy Coalition

Carolyn RaffenspergerExecutive Director

Science and Environmental Health Network

M.V. RamanaProgram on Science and Global

Security, Princeton University

Kelly RamirezChief Executive Officer

Social Enterprise Greenhouse

Marcus RaskinCo-Founder and Distinguished

Fellow Institute for Policy Studies

Paul RaskinFounding President

Tellus Institute

Dave ReedOrganizer

Fund for Democratic Communities

Robert B. ReichChancellor’s Professor of Public

PolicyUniversity of California,

Berkeley

Lauren ResslerDirector of Campus OrganizingResponsible Endowments Coalition

Anne ReynoldsExecutive DirectorUniversity of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives

Burton RichterNobel Laureate (Physics 1976)Professor EmeritusStanford University

Corey RobinProfessor of Political ScienceBrooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center

Doria RobinsonExecutive DirectorUrban Tilth

Belinda RodriguezYouth and Student Network OrganizerNew Economy Coalition

Joel RogersSewell-Bascom Professor of Law, Political Science, Public

Policy and Sociology University of Wisconsin-Madison

DirectorCenter on Wisconsin Strategies

Euneika Rogers-SippFounder

Sustainable Rural Regenera-tive Enterprises for Families

(SURREF)

Richard RosenSenior Fellow and Executive

Vice PresidentTellus Institute

Heather L. RossVisiting Fellow

Resources for the Future

Peter RughJournalistVice News

Co-FounderSystem Change Not Climate

Change

Jeffrey D. SachsDirector, Earth InstituteColumbia University

Sonia E. SachsDirector, Health ProgramsMillennium VIllages Project 

Maliha SafriAssociate Professor of EconomicsDrew University

Rachelle C. SampsonRH Smith School of BusinessUniversity of Maryland, College Park

Saskia SassenRobert S. Lynd Professor of SociologyCo-Chair, Committee on Global Thought Columbia University

C. Otto ScharmerSenior LecturerMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyFounding ChairPresencing Institute

Maya SchenwarEditor-in-Chief

Truthout.org

Juliet SchorProfessor of Sociology

Boston College

Jonathan SchwarzSenior EditorThe Intercept

David SchweickartProfessor of Philosophy

Loyola University Chicago

D’Artagnan ScorzaFounder and Executive Director

Social Justice Learning Institute

Deborah ScottExecutive DirectorGeorgia Stand Up

Naoko ShibusawaAssociate Professor of History

and American StudiesBrown University

Aisha ShillingfordActivist

Michael H. ShumanAuthorThe Local Economy Solution

William ShutkinPresident and CEOPresidio Graduate School

Nikki SilvestriSocial Innovation Strategist

Alan SmithAssociate Director of Networked InitiativesRoosevelt Institute

Marcie SmithExecutive Director

Richard SmithResearch AssociateInstitute for Policy Research & Development

Norman SolomonFounder and Executive DirectorInstitute for Public Accuracy

Responsible Endowments Coalition

Saket SoniExecutive Director

National Guestworker AllianceNew Orleans Workers’ Center

for Racial Justice

Kaitlin Sopoci-BelknapNational Director

Move to Amend

Jill SteinPhysician

2012 Green Party Presidential Nominee

Steven StollAssociate Professor of History

Fordham University

Oliver StoneAcademy Award-winning

Filmmaker

Sarah StranahanStrategic Development Director

Free Speech For People

Lee StuartExecutive Director

CHUM

Cathy SwainPresident and CEOThe Hub of Human Innovation

David SwansonDirectorWorld Beyond WarCampaign CoordinatorRootsAction.org

Aaron TanakaDirectorCenter for Economic Democracy Startup ManagerBoston Impact Initiative

Linwood TauheedAssociate Professor of Economics University of Missouri, Kansas City

Astra TaylorFilmmakerAuthorThe People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age

J. Phillip ThompsonProfessor of Urban Planning and PoliticsMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Marnie ThompsonCo-Managing Director

Fund for Democratic Communities

John TirmanExecutive Director

Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of

Technology

Gerald TorresJane M.G. Foster Professor

Cornell University Law School

Rodolfo D. TorresProfessor of Urban Planning,

Chicano Studies, Political Sci-ence, Culture and Theory

University of California, Irvine

Mary Evelyn TuckerCo-Director

Forum on Religion and EcologyYale University

Joe UehleinPresident

Labor Network for Sustainability

Alayne UnterbergerFounderFlorida Institute for Community Studies

Kabzuag VajCo-Founder and Co-Executive Director Freedom Inc.

Juanita Valdez-CoxExecutive DirectorLa Union del Pueblo Entero

Sarah van GelderCo-Founder and Editor-in-ChiefYES! Magazine

Carlos L. VelascoFounderVelasco Consulting LLC DirectorFuerza Local Arizona

Peter A. Victor

York University

Stewart WallisExecutive DirectorNew Economics Foundation (London)

Responsible Endowments Coalition

Professor of Environmental Studies

Michael WalzerCo-Editor (Emeritus)

Dissent Magazine

Cheyenna Layne WeberCo-Founder

SolidarityNYC

Mark WeisbrotCo-Director

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Allen L. WhiteVice President and Senior

FellowTellus Institute

Ed WhitfieldCo-Managing Director

Fund for Democratic Communities

Judy WicksCo-Founder

BALLEAuthor

Good Morning, Beautiful Business

Wendy Willbanks WiesnerFounding Board Member and Treasurer Partnerships for Affordable Cohousing

Steven WilliamsExecutive DirectorThe Partnership CDC

Thad WilliamsonAssociate Professor of Lead-ership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics and LawUniversity of Richmond

Billy WimsattGamechanger Labs

Timothy E. WirthVice ChairUnited Nations Foundation and Better World Fund

Felipe WitchgerExecutive DirectorCommunity Purchasing Alliance Cooperative

Susan WittExecutive Director

Schumacher Center for a New Economics

Richard D. WolffDemocracyatwork.infoProfessor Emeritus of

Economics University of Massachusetts,

AmherstThe New School University

George M. WoodwellFounder and Director Emeritus

Woods Hole Research Center

L. Randall WrayProfessor of Economics

University of Missouri, Kansas City

Erik Olin Wright

Professor of Sociology

Emily WurthWater Program Director

Food and Water Watch

Daphne WyshamFellow

Institute for Policy Studies

Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali Zamindar Associate Professor of HistoryBrown University

Kevin ZeeseCo-DirectorIt’s Our EconomyA project of Popular Resistance

Deidre ZollResearch CoordinatorGund Institute for Ecological EconomicsUniversity of Vermont

Signatories are acting in a personal capacity; affiliations are for identification purposes only.

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Front cover image by funkybug flickr.com/funkybug(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, with modifications

Back cover image by getdarwinflickr.com/getdarwin(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, with modifications)

thenextsystem.org | @thenextsystem

University of Wisconsin, Madison

The Next System Project is an ambitious multi-year initiative aimed at helping Americans think boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic challenges the United States faces now and in coming decades. Responding to real hunger for a new way forward, and building on practical experience with new economic institutions and approaches being developed in communities across the country and around the world, we will use the best research, understanding and strategic thinking to refine and publicize comprehensive alternative political-economic models capable of delivering superior social, economic, and ecological outcomes and put the central idea of system change, and that there can be a “next system,” on the map. For more information, see http://thenextsystem.org or write to nextsystem@democracycollaborative.org

thenextsystem.org | @thenextsystem

It is possible to build a new and better america beyond the failed systems of the past and present.

TheNexTsysTem.org#WhaTsNexT