Local self-reliance means that we, the people, are free to exercise power over our lives — how we provide for our families, how resources are shared and allocated in our communities, and how decisions are made by government, corporations, and businesses, because it affects all of us.
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Amazon has quietly captured a growing share of government purchasing. This major report explains how, and what to do about it.
The story of 19 small Western Massachusetts towns that worked together over a decade and a half to build an alternative to the monopoly marketplace.
Across coastal New England and NYC, 37 organizations received grants of $10,000 each to support new or existing mission-driven composting projects focused on community improvement.
As federal priorities shifted in 2025, ILSR took it to the states to challenge corporate dominance while championing community-led solutions from the ground up.
David Morris, co-founder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and a pioneering voice for community-scaled economics and local self-determination, died on June 11, 2025, at age 79. One of America’s most visionary and prescient thinkers, David was an early and incisive critic of corporate concentration and free trade.
Over a career spanning more than five decades, he helped lay the groundwork for what are now ascendant alternatives — including local green energy and community broadband — and crafted countless innovative policy proposals to advance justice, equity, and community power. His clarity, conviction, and vision will be deeply missed.
Remembering David Morris