MODULE 8
What is finance? In this module, we explore its historical roots and evolution, uncovering how financial tools emerged and how they shape the way our society plans for the future.
We will look at debt and equity: who uses them, and how they’ve been tied to systems of colonization and racial capitalism. By understanding where wealth comes from and who makes financial decisions, we can ask ourselves: “how can we democratize finance and use these tools to build the future we want to see?”
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how financial systems are intentionally designed and how they shape society’s relationship to the future
- Examine how current financial tools (e.g. debt and finance) influence economic power, resource distribution, and community planning outcomes
- Explore how we can democratize financial tools to fund community projects and shape the future we want to see.
- Understand asset classes, including distinguishing between real and financial assets
Materials
Slide Deck Preview
Facilitator Guide Preview
VIDEO LESSONS:
Takeaways
- There are three general strategies for social change 1) reforming or taming an oppressive system, 2) destroying or smashing an oppressive system, and 3) escaping the system by building alternative communities.
- Solidarity Economy is an alternative to capitalism that features collective ownership, allocation based on needs, governance by those closest to the pain deciding the solution, and the sharing of the least desired work in society.
- The just transition framework provides a strategy to move from an extractive to a regenerative economy using three strategies: 1) stop the bad → build the new, 2) divest from their power → invest in our power, and 3) change the rules
- Our campaigns and projects can and should strive for both the redistribution of resources and democratic governance.
ALL MODULES COMPLETED! CONGRATULATIONS.
Readings
Social Reproduction
Is work the only work we do? The work we perform for our bosses is […]
Surplus Value: Absolute and Relative
Where do profits come from? Conventional economists say profit is the reward for risk-taking or […]
Communal, Command, Commodity
Now, how do we determine how economies are organized and how we distribute goods and […]
What is Economy?
We all know it is very important, but often feel intimidated by the technical terms […]
Use-Value vs. Exchange Value
So how do we decide what to produce/distribute/consume? In other words, what makes something valuable? […]
Videos
Social Reproduction
Is work the only work we do? The work we perform for our bosses is […]
Surplus Value: Absolute and Relative
Where do profits come from? Conventional economists say profit is the reward for risk-taking or […]
Communal, Command, Commodity
Now, how do we determine how economies are organized and how we distribute goods and […]
What is Economy?
We all know it is very important, but often feel intimidated by the technical terms […]
Use-Value vs. Exchange Value
So how do we decide what to produce/distribute/consume? In other words, what makes something valuable? […]
