Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition

“If you want a convincing account of just how deep the shift in our new axial age is and must be, look no further than this brilliant book by Charles Eisenstein, one of the deepest integrative thinkers active today.”

—Michel Bauwens, founder of the P2P Foundation

“With his breadth of knowledge, enthusiasm, commitment, diligence, and sensitivity, Eisenstein has become a beacon of hope for others. Your heart and mind will be opened by this treasure of a book that shines with wisdom of crucial importance to our troubled world today.”

—Kamran Mofid, PhD in economics; founder of the Globalisation
    for the Common Good Initiative

“This is an extraordinary book. Eisenstein has put his finger on the core problem facing humanity—namely: separation. All the crises that humanity now faces are grounded in the belief that we are separate—separate from each other, separate from the biosphere that sustains us, separate from the universe that has brought us forth. This is a tour-de-force filled with astounding insight, wit, wisdom, and heart.”

—Christopher Uhl, author of
Developing Ecological Consciousness:
    Paths to a Sustainable Future

“Quite marvelous, a hugely important work … This book is truly needed in this time of deepening crisis.”

—John Zerzan, author of
Future Primitive
and
Elements of Refusal

“A radical awakening as to how we arrived at our current crisis and how we can more effectively redefine the path of our evolutionary journey.”

—Bruce Lipton, author of
The Biology of Belief

“Brilliant and original, with great depth of insight and understanding, Eisenstein’s
Ascent of Humanity
easily ranks with the works of such giants of our age as David Bohm, Julian Jaynes, Jean Gebser, and Alfred North Whitehead. It is a profoundly serious, indeed somber portrait of our times, even as it opens a door of honest hope amidst the dark destiny we have woven about us. Accept the challenge of this major accomplishment and discover the light shining within it.”

—Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of
The Crack in the Cosmic Egg,
    Magical Child, Evolution’s End
, and
The Biology of Transcendence

“This is one of those rare books that moves the goal posts. Eisenstein pulls together a wide array of insights to show that what we thought was the solution is also the problem. It is eye-opening fodder for conversations with everyone I meet. As a technologist and a human being, I believe this could well be one of the most important books of the decade.”

—Garret Moddel, professor of electrical engineering at UC Boulder;
    chairman & CTO, Phiar Corporation

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Eisenstein, Charles, 1967–
  Sacred economics: money, gift, and society in the age of transition
/ Charles Eisenstein.
       p. cm.
  eISBN: 978-1-58394-398-4
  1. Money—History. 2. Money—Philosophy. I. Title.
  HG231.E37 2011
  332.4′9—dc22

2011010766