ABSTRACT
Around the world, a new economy is being shaped by a "leave things better" story about the meaning of progress and development. In a million projects, people are growing food, restoring soils and rivers, designing homes, generating energy, journeying, caring for each other, and learning, in new ways. Beyond the interconnected nature of complex challenges, in the 21st century, it is difficult to imagine a future where global connections could be cut off in lieu of a full return to local economic activity only. Almost unnoticed, in the niches and hollows of the market system, whole swathes of economic life are beginning to move to a different rhythm. Parallel currencies, time banks, cooperatives and self-managed spaces have proliferated, barely noticed by the economics profession, and often as a direct result of the shattering of old structures after the 2008 crisis.
