The Democracy Collaborative

10/15/2026

We are delighted to announce the publishing of our essay collection 'Twenty Years of Community Wealth Building'.

This anthology not only celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the coining of the term hashtag by The Democracy Collaborative, but serves as testament to the importance of CWB in the face of today's social and political challenges.

Or as our President Joe Guinan put it in his preface to the collection:

"(...) Community Wealth Building was never intended merely as a community development model but rather as an eminently practical starting point for a strategy of radical economic transformation – a vital aspect of its lineage that assumes even more importance in today’s world of overlapping social, economic, and ecological crises that haunt our present and endanger our future."

You can read or download the full anthology →

With essays by Neil McInroy, Ted Howard, John Duda, Thomas M. Hanna, Jessica Rose, Marjorie Kelly, Stephanie McHenry and Anthony Cook, Max Lacey Barnacle, Thad Williamson, Charli Cooksey and Abimael Chavez-Hernandez, Przemyslaw Piechchockiand Mateusz Piotrowski, Joe Guinan and John McDonnell, Joe Cu

10/13/2026

Our Global Lead for Community Wealth Building, Neil Mcinroy, is currently in South Korea for an international Community Wealth Building conference.

The event is organized by the city of Gwangmyeoung and our colleagues at the 희망제작소 (Hope Institute).

"I had a productive day meeting with Mayor Park (Seungwon), who has big ambitions for CWB and he has already got started", Neil said following the first day of his tour. "I visited a range of social and solidarity economy enterprises (...) Interesting how inclusive and democratic enterprises are starting to play into high tech and manufacturing. Much to learn for many other places in the world, as they seek to rewire the economy."

Wishing all the participants of the Gwangmyeong International Forum on Community Asset Building a great conference!

Picture 3 courtesy of Gwangmyeong City

10/10/2026

Now on

❗️Pentagon major attack on Iran ahead of midterms
❗️'Houthis' major advances against Riyadh
❗️ICE accessed voter records

❕Austerity protests in Europe
❕VT week of action against ICE facility
❕Data centers city council fight

trackingthecrisis.org

10/07/2026

Last month, our Global Lead for Community Wealth Building Neil Mcinroy was invited to go on the podcast Leading Australia's Just Transition from the UNSW Centre for Social Innovation.

Neil got to speak about our worldwide work on Community Wealth Building and how it's expanding and diversifying. The recent Scottish Community Wealth Building Act was the "icing on the cake", but there's much else being done on the ground across the globe without legislation.

Listen in full 👉 https://open.spotify.com/episode/23e6xqFswlZHGlTKbG4Qni?si=D0MqjIYfRzmtUoHmywnRJQ

10/07/2026

Have you seen our latest video on what is Community Wealth Building?

In an America where two thirds of workers today live paycheck to paycheck, and the top 1% of wealthiest Americans today own more than the bottom 50% combined, Community Wealth Building means fighting the extraction crisis by building wealth and power locally.

Something has fundamentally broken in America, but something can be done to fix it.

As our CEO, Stephanie McHenry, explains, we call the solution Community Wealth Building - or CWB.

Community Wealth Building is a model that is growing in scale and transforming cities for the better. Cities like Cleveland, Ohio, where CWB policies are breaking generational cycles of poverty and disinvestment.

Community Wealth Building is a model that can build a fairer economy for everyone and make the American dream real again. But we need state and local leaders willing to think differently about policy design.

What if the economy worked for all of us?

Visit democracycollaborative.org to learn more

*What is Community Wealth Building?*In an America where two third...

10/07/2026

Following last month's state visit, analysts scrambled to predict the next steps in U.S.-China relations. But many are failing to see the wider picture, or what renowned economist and The Democracy Collaborative Fellow Michael Hudson has coined "the New International Economic Order".

"Although its industrial socialism is called autocratic in the West, China is pursuing essentially the same policies as those which made U.S. and European industrial capitalism so successful (...)," Hudson writes in his latest piece for the series 'Creating a New International Order'.

Read 'A Clean Slate: How the Oil War's Aftermath Will Transform the World Economic Order' in full → https://www.democracycollaborative.org/whatwethink/a-clean-slate

10/06/2026

Our President Joe Guinan gave a tribute to David K. Cobb - a friend, collaborator, and The Democracy Collaborative fellow who passed away on Labor Day - at the Memorial held last weekend at the Arcata Playhouse in Humboldt County, CA.

“He had a beautiful big heart and a big brain to match. He taught me a lot even as he was still learning himself, right to the end.” - Joe Guinan

You can read more about David's extraordinary life and work, as well as Joe's and other colleagues' tributes to David on the blog here ➡ https://www.democracycollaborative.org/blogs/remembering-david-cobb-1962-2026

10/05/2026

📖 NOW ON THE BLOG

In Boston, a mom-and-pop shop has begun a new chapter under employee ownership, showing how Community Wealth Building financial ecosystems are becoming a popular wealth creation solution in communities across the U.S., Marjorie Kelly writes.

"It takes a community to build community wealth. In the case of Tropical Foods, the worker ownership structure preserves a long-established retailer, as it changes who benefits from wealth creation."

Read the full piece ➡️

In Boston, a mom-and-pop shop has begun a new chapter under employee ownership, showing how CWB financial ecosystems are becoming a popular wealth creation solution in communities across the U.S., Marjorie Kelly writes.

10/05/2026

Now on

❗️Iraq: US troops withdraw
❗️EU declares fuel emergency
❗️Worst quarter for US Treasuries since 1994

❕Midterms: Voter concerns, polls and more
❕Amnesty International: 'ICE must be abolished'
❕ underway

trackingthecrisis.org