By Bob Meyer

The moral underpinnings of economics has always been deeply embedded in human relationships in three basic ways: threats, exchanges or gifts.

Hazel Henderson’s new book, Ethical Markets, looks at the cleaner, greener, more ethical and more female sectors of our U.S. economy. Henderson is a world-renowned expert on sustainable development and the author of Beyond Globalization and seven other books.

In her newest effort, Ethical Markets, chapter three has a fascinating look at what she refers to as the “Love Economy.” It covers a wide spectrum…from the 77 million baby boomers soon to retire (and will be looking in other directions to reinvent themselves and help build better communities) to time dollar banks set up by community groups, growing use of micro-credit programs on up to huge countertrade agreements where conventional foreign exchange is often bypassed. It’s a remarkable attempt to connect all the dots.

Also included in that chapter is information from the television interviw I did in Washington, D.C. for Henderson’s Ethical Markets TV series, where I looked at how the commercial barter industry operates.

In short, Henderson contends, while the economists view the world trough the lens of money, at least 50 percent of all production, goods and services in all industrial societies, and up to 65 to 70 percent in many developing counties, never count in official GNP statistics because these non-money sectors support the financial economy are known as “gift economies.”

Long ignored and minimized by the mainstream media, visionary entrepreneurs, environmentalists, scientists, and professionals have been creating a profitable new economy that lives in harmony with the earth and social well-being. Ethical Markets takes an inside look at the green economy that already exists and is growing dramatically.

For more information on the global TV series see Ethical Markets.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 5:00 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Entrepreneurs & Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.