After many months of feeling in equal parts a) guilty for not writing a blog and b) terrified of writing a crap blog, I am taking the plunge and assuaging one emotion at the extreme risk of solidifying the other!

My terror stems from following in the wake of Deirdre Kent who knows her stuff New Economics-wise and I suspect readers of Deirdre’s blogs will also know far more than I on economic matters. My guilt, however, stems also from having promised Deirdre I would do my best to keep the blogging happening, and having so far done less than my best in the face of my fear.

Although I think about changing the economic system almost constantly I feel I have a dearth of conceptual knowledge that allows me to draw on a newsworthy item, for example, and argue the new economic points in a way that might enlighten readers. Or any way at all.

What I am trying to do in my life however, is to find and realise new economic ideas and practices, and practise them.

Tonight I took part in one of my Savings Pool meetings by phone (I belong to two since I moved recently; one in Christchurch that I started with and now, as well, one in Ashburton which is nearer to where I am currently living.) During an extended conversation about a proposed change to the current way of calculating ‘reciprocity points’, it hit me just how much we are building this new system. We don’t know how it works perfectly or even if it works perfectly, but how we figure it out is in the trying.

My Pool in Christchurch is about to knock off its first mortgage and my Pool in Ashburton is going to put up some dosh and I am going to be the conduit between Pools. Effectively some money will be lent to me and I will lend it on. It’s real small fry in the financial markets, let’s face it, but boy does it feel good to be doing community lending. To get that family out of paying interest to the bank and to be supporting each other. To be using money collectively to benefit each other.

And learning by doing is how a lot of this new economic stuff is going to have to happen. Abstract concepts are great until they hit the pavement – ole Einstein knew what he was on about when he told us that in theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice, they are not!

My theory is that if I practise writing blogs more, my New Economic theory will become more practised and I might end up writing something y’all wanna read! Here’s hoping…