Dear Ivo and Orio

I must first of all thank both of you for conceiving this remarkable initiative and inviting me to be part of it. For many years I and my associates at MSS have felt the need for a basic re-conceptualization of economics and other social sciences. Your initiative at this time when the deficiencies in current theory and practice are all too obvious is especially timely. I also applaud Ivo’s strategy of starting with a very small, eclectic and unrepresentative group in order to freely explore our common concerns and chart out the scope and boundaries of an effort which may ultimately engage a much broader group of thinkers with many different perspectives. Ivo’s suggestion to include Bernard Lietaer is excellent. I am confident that he can make a significant contribution to our endeavor.

Orio’s recent message is a wonderful beginning. He puts his finger on several nodal issues that are central to a re-conceptualization. Reading it prompted me to try to formulate my own concerns in a more coherent manner than in the past. I attach a list of issues that I believe need to be reexamined and reformulated as part of the new economics.

In order to facilitate an independent exchange of ideas among ourselves, I suggest we create a separate discussion forum on yahoo.com or mssresearch.org and host our past and future correspondence on this subject in the forum. That way we can easily keep track of issues and ideas as they emerge. If you both approve, I will set it up and inform you.

I welcome Ivo’s suggestion of a meeting in Trieste immediately before or after the WAAS board meeting, which is scheduled for May 17-18 in Florence. I’d like to finalize the dates so I can block those days well in advance.

Best regards
Garry