September 12, 2025: Michael Garjian Presents An Alternative to Corporate Capitalism in Managing the Socio-economic Risks of Emerging Technologies

The introduction of any new technology into the marketplace and into our social fabric involves risks. Some risks are technical, some are economic, and others are social. In this new season leadoff meeting of The Wilson Forum, Michael Garjian posits that many of today’s problems are the result of an economic model of corporate capitalism which requires corporations to produce maximum profits and maximum growth for their investors. He will be speaking about how we might implement an alternative, parallel, voluntary, community controlled, economic model he envisioned and designated as E2M on January1, 2000. In August of 2000, Michael formed E2M.org to act as an implementing organization. In 2009, E2M.org received its designation as a federally recognized 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Michael first spoke publicly about E2M at the request and home of Hampshire College Founding President Greg Prince in 2001, then at public presentations including at the UMass Global Sustainability Festival in 2002, the UMass Amherst Department of Anthropology in 2002; the Boston Social Forum in 2004[1]; a social economics conference at Boston University in 2005; at the Pioneer Valley Relocalization Conference in 2007,[2] and others. In 2003, a community survey named Michael’s office as the third most important cause of the Easthampton, MA Economic Renaissance. During the 2000 to 2008 period of time, the E2M Board created all of the policies, procedures, methods, and organizational structures to create a template for other regions to quickly and easily implement the E2M model in their regions. During that time, Michael’s ideas received commendations by the Mass State Senate President, MA House Representatives, a Member of Congress, other elected officials, local businesses, and community members. In 2010, Michael authored his book “Community Capitalism: How Communities Can Use Capitalism to Create a Shared Economy that Works for Everyone”, included below[3]. Excerpts from the book and other references are included as an attachment that would be useful to read in advance of our meeting.

In 1964, Michael Garjian left the farm to earn a degree in business management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Isenberg School of Management. As a lifelong commercial entrepreneur, social entrepreneur, and author, he holds 11 international patents for alternative lighting systems, electronic power supplies, and atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR) systems. As a commercial entrepreneur he and his wife Irene employed 400 associates producing innovations he developed and sold internationally. As a social entrepreneur since 1999, he conceived of and pursued the development of sustainable economic systems while working in community development organizations helping more than one hundred very low-income individuals and refugees start small businesses. Michael and his wife Irene are the founders of CarbonStar Systems, Inc., a Massachusetts domestic benefit corporation (B-Corp). The E2M Board of Directors embraced the CarbonStar mission to use alternative, clean, renewable fuels to develop a sustainable, off-grid source of electricity, heat, biofuels, and fertilizers to act as the anchor industrial tenant in each E2M Regional Economic Cell. The CarbonStar system entered prototype testing status in 2021, was moved into a large manufacturing facility in 2023, and is now ready for initial production runs. Once complete, the current facility has the infrastructure means to build 100 or more CarbonStar systems annually. Thus, it is time to return our attention to the expansion of the E2M model, hopefully as a movement[4] into a new era.