The collection of lectures and publications from the Schumacher Center for a New Economics represents some of the foremost voices on a new economics.

Deborah Meier argues that at the heart of civic life are responsible relationships; we learn by the company we keep. She goes on to contend that our system of large schools tends to discourage responsible interactions by their very scale. Not content to just criticize, she outlines the steps she and her colleagues have taken to shape small schools within the public school system, increasing continuity of staff, more interaction among age groups, and a sense of community.