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Less anyone misinterpret this as an endorsement of communism, perhaps a little explanation is warranted.

We’re concerned about the implications of a capitalistic society that privileges economic growth above all else. We do think capitalism has a place but currently the marriage of capitalism with the lack of corporate responsibility and ethics is dangerous and misguided.

As we’ve articulated elsewhere in this blog, we believe that business has social and environmental responsibilities that should weigh equally with the drive for profit. This business paradigm has various names: “natural capitalism”, “ethical capitalism”, “socially responsible or conscious capitalism”, having a “triple-bottom line”–but it all comes down to the basic understanding that a single-minded focus on profit ultimately leads to a weak, unhealthy society.

This is one of the core drivers for the efforts we are taking to create eco-urban community. The Development industry has a bad history of exploitation, control, manipulation, greed, and myopic short-sightedness. We want to upend that trend and make development about what’s good for the community and what’s good for the earth and we want to engage others in the dialogue about development, understanding that openness, transparency and listening ears ultimately lead to better projects and a healthier community. And we believe we can make a good business doing this.

I realize we’re treading into economics, a subject about which I am admittedly not educated enough. But I also believe that what we’re talking about is basic common sense and doesn’t/shouldn’t require a PH.D in macro-economics. We’re also not saying anything that hasn’t been said by others. Natural Capitalism probably represents the best articulation of this business paradigm and over the past couple of years we’ve seen a groundswell of business start-ups (often by younger entrepreneurs) that have adopted these same principles.

Hopefully, this makes sense. If not, feel free to ask questions. We’re still learning how to articulate these concepts, so any help toward that end is always appreciated.

Jason