Hazel Henderson

Hazel Henderson (* 1933 in Bristol , Great Britain ) is an American futurologist and expert on alternative economics . She is the author of several books and works as a columnist for newspapers and magazines around the world, as well as a consultant on issues relating to sustainable development .

Life

After graduating from high school at 16, Hazel Henderson worked in retail and eventually in the hospitality industry in England and the Caribbean. In 1956 she came to the USA, where she was naturalized in 1962. She lived in New York until 1971, where she co-organized one of the first New York environmental organizations in 1964. She describes this time and its motivations in the foreword of one of her books as follows:

"Today, humanity's problems are mounting. [...] I tried to understand, predict, interpret to others and to organize politically for the changes I was sure must come as the mass consumption joyride of Americans collided with global population / resource realities. In 1964 I began my own self-education (there were few college courses then in these matters) concerning this needed transformation of our economy and technology. At the same time, I began to express my active concern when I joined with some other worried citizens and mothers of small children in New York City to form an organization called Citizens for Clean Air . I soon learned that if the air was to remain breathable and the environment life-sustaining for my infant daughter during her lifetime, I and other citizens would have to commit ourselves to a process of learning about the complex, interdependent, urban, industrial societies in which we lived and about the basic assumptions on which their technical and economic system were founded. I also discovered in studying ecology, economics, corporate behavior, mass media and our sociopolicical system that many of the traditional assumptions about economic growth, recource exploitation and competition were literally killing us. "

“Today mankind faces growing problems. [...] I tried to understand them, to say beforehand and to explain them to others as well as to organize politically the changes that I was sure would have to come because the consumer frenzy of the Americans collides with the global reality of population and raw materials. In 1964 I began my self-study (there were hardly any lectures on these topics) about the necessary changes in our economy and technology. At the same time, I took an active interest in building an organization with other concerned New Yorkers and mothers of young children called Citizens for Clean Air . I soon realized that I and the rest of the citizens needed to learn more about the complex, intertwined, urban, industrial society we lived in, and about the basic assumptions on which their technical and economic systems were based when the air was in my little one's lifetime Daughter should be breathable and the environment should remain life-sustaining. In my studies of ecology, economics, corporate behavior, mass media and our sociopolitical system, I soon realized that many traditional assumptions about economic growth, resource exploitation and competition are literally about to kill us. "

- Hazel Henderson : Creating Alternative Futures , p. 2

She enrolled in economics and business administration and became friends with EF Schumacher . Disappointed with the prevailing doctrine, she began to write articles in which she advocated alternative production methods and resource distributions. She was a senior lecturer at the University of Santa Barbara and held the Horace Albright Chair in Environmental Protection at the University of Berkeley . Her first article appeared in 1967, and since then she has published several books and numerous articles.

As an autodidact , Henderson taught herself most of her knowledge, reading Smith and Keynes ; their works are largely free of academic technical terms and formulas and are therefore accessible to a broad readership.

activities

From 1974 to 1980, Hazel Henderson Advisor to the Office of Technology Assessment and the National Science Foundation on issues of technology assessment . She is an active member of the National Press Club , the Social Venture Network , the World Future Society, and the World Futures Study Federation .

She is on the board of the Worldwatch Institute . She is a member of the advisory boards of the Calvert Social Investment Fund , the Cousteau Society , the Council on Economic Priorities, and the New Economics Foundation and the Club of Rome .

She is co-editor of WorldPaper , Futures Research Quarterly , World Business Academic Perspectives , E: The Environmental Magazine, and Resurgence and Futures . She is a member of the World Business Academy and the Global Commission to Fund the United Nations and a supporter of the Global Marshall Plan .

She is a member of the jury for the Petra Kelly Prize of the Heinrich Böll Foundation .

Awards

In 1967 she was a citizen of the year the city of New York with the Citizen of the Year Award awarded, in 1977, she was an honorary doctorate from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute for their work in the field of alternative economics awarded and technology, and in 1996 it was together with the Nobel Peace Prize A. Pérez Esquivel received the Global Citizen Award .

Works

• Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy , Chelsea Green Publishing, 2006, ISBN 978-1-933392-23-3
• Daisaku Ikeda coauthor, Planetary Citizenship , Middleway Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-9723267-2-8 , 256 pages
• Hazel Henderson et al., Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators , Calvert Group, 2000, ISBN 978-0-9676891-0-4 , 392 pages
• Beyond globalization . Kumarian Press, 1999, ISBN 978-1-56549-107-6 , 88 pages
• Building a Win-Win World . Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-57675-027-8 , 320 pages
• Creating Alternative Futures . Kumarian Press, 1996, ISBN 978-1-56549-060-4 , 430 pages (original edition, Berkley Books, NY, 1978)
• Hazel Henderson et al., The United Nations: Policy and Financing Alternatives . Global Commission to Fund the United Nations, 1995, ISBN 978-0-9650589-0-2 , 269 pages
• Paradigms in Progress . Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-881052-74-6 , 293 pages (original edition, Knowledge Systems, 1991)
• Redefining Wealth and Progress: New Ways to Measure Economic, Social, and Environmental Change: The Caracas Report on Alternative Development Indicators . Knowledge Systems Inc., 1990, ISBN 978-0-942850-24-6 , 99 pages
• The Politics of the Solar Age . Knowledge Systems Inc., 1988, ISBN 978-0-941705-06-6 , 433 pages (original edition, Doubleday, NY, 1981)

See also

• Solidarity economy
• Technology assessment
• Corporate social responsibility

Web links

• www.hazelhenderson.com - Official home of Hazel Henderson
• www.calvert-henderson.com - Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators (en)
• www.youtube.com - Interview with Hazel Henderson (2007) about the role of the economy (en, video, 10min)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} CV up to 1982 University of California: Introducing: Hazel Henderson ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Petra Kelly Prize, list of jurors  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ^ Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, list of jurors  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.