Our current system of neoliberal economics is a false and deceptive ideology that is causing enormous personal/planetary pain, grotesque wealth inequality and unending wars. Sacred Rule Economics sets forth principles and policies that guided several ancient civilizations in attaining a high degree of social harmony, overall well-being and the flourishing of the arts. This one-day forum will shine a light on these perennial wisdom teachings and suggest ways they can be put in place in New York and worldwide. By the end of the forum you may have clear ideas about what you can do to pull our country out of its current nosedive, end the corruption of economics, and build a “win-win” world that works for everyone.

Presenters:

Charles R. Avila: Executive Director of the Confederation of National Coconut Farmers’ Organizations of the Philippines. He is the author of the now classic book Ownership: Early Christian Teachings. A former mayor of the town of his birth (Tanauan Leyte), he has served as Consultant of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, as Secretary-General of the 18-nation Asian Cultural Forum on Development, a Research Fellow at the Centro Intercultural de Documentacion in Mexico, at the Institute for Food and Development Policy in San Francisco, a Staff Writer of South Magazine in London, a lecturer on agrarian reforms at the Land Reform Training Institute in Taiwan, and Deputy Secretary General of the Philippine Congress of Agrarian and Industrial Workers. Based in Manila he continues to be involved in the coconut levy funds case, mining issues, and the cause of the peasantry.

Alanna Hartzok: Co-founder/co-director of Earth Rights Institute, a United Nations NGO representative, and a transpersonal psychologist. She received the Radical Middle Book Award for her book The Earth Belongs to Everyone, a collection of 30 of her articles and essays and the International Earth Day Award presented by the Earth Society Foundation. She has given lectures and seminars in more than 30 countries and is currently working on implementation projects based on the public finance recommendations of the New Urban Agenda. Hartzok was the Green Party candidate for Congress in 2001 in her congressional district and the Democratic Party candidate in 2014. She enjoys tending to organic gardens, animals and grandchildren on her micro-farm in south central Pennsylvania.