The work on local wealth building by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) Centre stands as a socially rich alternate to the prevailing set of liberal economic development thinking. However, this has come with some negative critique. This piece seeks to answer that.

Local Wealth Building is a growing movement in Europe and the USA, and offers a different approach to a socially failing liberal economic approach. At its core stands a recognition that places have much public and private wealth at their disposal. Therefore, we must analyse this wealth, and seek to harness it for deeper economic, social and environmental benefit.