ARE YOU DISILLUSIONED BY ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH?

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THEY REPRESENT THREATS TO THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY?

IF SO, PLEASE READ ON ........

Philonomics is the study of the equitable production and fair distribution of goods and services at every level -- locally, regionally, nationally and globally -- in a sustainable manner. The name comes from the Greek "philo", meaning love or affinity, and "nomia", meaning custom or law. This is in contrast to the existing social science of economics (from the Greek, meaning roughly "rules of the household"), which is often referred to as the dismal science for reasons that are becoming increasingly obvious as the outcomes of some of the 20th century economic theories are making clear: increasing income inequality, market instability, environmental damage and so on. Philonomics -- which might be translated as "the rules of empathy and friendship", dedicates itself to the fair and equitable development and regulation of the human and material resources of a community or nation in a manner that neither prejudices contemporary human needs nor the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Currently, the term Philonomics is being used principally by Mike Thomas, a retired civil engineer and co-coordinator of the Future in our Hands International Network , a subsidiary of the FIOH movement based in Norway. However, variations of the concepts underlying Philonomics have been advanced for years under different names. Philonomics unites these variations in a single word, in an attempt to present an alternative to the present social science of neoclassical Economics.

Philonomics is intended to be an appropriate framework for those models and ideas which reflect a more ecologically sustainable and equitable pattern of future development.