March 12, 2021 00:00

CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE: Pioneers of the Planetary Economy

Istoday’s disarray the disruption the planet has been hankering for? Has COVID-19 pulled the last threads of carpet from over the cracks and given permission to go ahead with a new vision? A vision without an uneven distribution of wealth and health. ‘Building back better’ is a common ideal right now. Are the planet’s needs being pulled out from the shadows and into the sunlight? Can a reframing of finance feed the health and well-being of our planet and our future?

Kate Raworth — ‘Doughnut Economics’ book published globally. — Planetary Doughnuts

In the theme of International Women’s Day ‘Choose to Challenge’ we credit the pioneering action stemming from Kate Raworth’s Planetary plans for the economy. This post is more of a spotlight on her disruptive thinking rather than a critique (we are not economists, after all). We look at the change-making ideas of Raworth’s Doughnut Economy model — its shift from the profit-driven Linear Economy of the last 200 years, to a fresh system “meeting the needs of all people within the means of the planet”. A double-sided challenge.

“When a bird builds a nest in a tree, it takes care not to destroy the surrounding forest in the process”. Janine Benyus

The Oxford Professor and author acknowledges the complexity of this challenge but has a roadmap — one which the world is already implementing. Collaborators include (to name only a few):

Social meets Planetary

The Social Economy’s ethos of service is the counter to the Linear’s model of monetary growth. Social entities have tenuously bandaged the shortfalls of the ‘isms’ of the last century — catching those who are eternally left out of the promises of capitalist growth: homeless, excluded labour, indigenous populations etc. The Social Economy’s compass addresses the needs of societies and meets the Planetary principles of giving back to people and the environment. It’s ideals focus on sustainability and inclusion, aiding cooperation and innovation on the ground. Noble in effort but micro in size — the social enterprises, co-operatives and associations hint at disruption but have yet to disrupt.

Enter the Planetary Economy: aka The Doughnut.

Stephen J. Hinton’s Interpretation of the Doughnut Economy model.

The Reframe

Irked by the irrelevance and injustice of yester-century’s thinking, Raworth’s Doughnut Economy reframes the way we, as people, resource our lives. Switching from the idea that progress and development is exclusively about growth and reserved for only those who can access that growth, the doughnut’s emphasis is regeneration and even-distribution. In this transformation, businesses are mission-led rather than competition- led — social enterprises — rejoice! The circular doughnut partners the social and planetary boundaries to build a social foundation and an environmental ceiling. To her, this redesign must factor in nature, must run on renewable energy and must work within planetary boundaries.

Dismissing the onward line of growth — without any clear end, Raworth speaks to the bend. Turning the arrows back in on ourselves fertilizes flow. Resources feedback in for repeated use rather than spiral into the biosphere unchecked and unaccounted for (shooting away from the doughnut). Even-distribution of resources builds in participation from the whole, drives out exploitation — both of people (by people) and of the natural world, and revives diversity. Social and biological diversity has long been recognised as the tool for resilience. Environmentalists, farmers and other organisations see diversity as vital in our fight against the climate crisis we are facing. To this end, our perception of the ‘developed world’ is rendered irrelevant. A developing nation in this planetary model works within both boundaries — accountable to both human and planet sustainability. Some countries today, barely infringing upon any planetary boundary, fall short on the social boundary as the needs of the people are not met. Many a G20 nation may be able to meet essential needs of its population by shooting far beyond what the planet can resource. The new ‘developed’ assumes ecological consciousness.

Maintaining our checks and balances protect us all from falling short of resources essential to life and from overshooting Earth’s capacity to house us. This resonates with our own vision at totel.ly. It is not longer enough to go by outdated theory — we face challenges unique to now and we need our own ideas.

Doughnut Economy’s New Story

Dashboard: Needs ands Means

Raworth refers to the doughnut as the dashboard of indicators from which to work. The dashboard’s progress is measured in metrics of opportunity, dignity, purpose and meaning. Not money. Rich in this kind of currency puts us in her idea of the sweet spot for humanity: the safe and just space. Is she on to something? If she asks for a world doing more than surviving then could this idea of wealth make that possible?

The hole in the middle of the doughnut is devoid of resource — where lives perish due to poverty and threatening climate conditions. Human needs are not met here and this sits outside the doughnut’s boundary: the shortfall. The mission here is to get everyone over the social foundation, where our resources radiate from, and into the “safe sweet middle”.

The outer edge of the doughnut’s ring represents the boundary of means that this planet is able to provide- exceed that (through greenhouse gas emissions and pollution) and we ‘overshoot’ and risk irreversible climate change.

This model designs out temporary band aid solutions. This model demands whole change — from the sourcing and manufacturing of resources, the optimising and sharing out of these resources through to how we build them back into the world once done with. It decentralises the current system and designs a ‘distributive’ system.

This distributive idea designs increased activity from the ground up. Raworth anticipates fresh creativity kickstarted from a collective sense of participation, belonging and meaning. Will these concepts rile responsibility in us and encourage us to show up? Tempting as it is to dismiss this as a far reaching ideal, disconnected to my everyday, the design is active and cities and governments are connecting.

A PEOPLE’S Plan

Cities like Amsterdam are developing their future vision aligned with the planetary doughnut. The eco-conscience model translates into the everyday in the form of shopping labels encouraging the public to assess their impact, know their impact and see a cost. With Raworth, Thriving Cities Initiatives and Doughnut Economy Action Lab (DEAL) help cities to create their new self portrait — holding a mirror up to how things are now and how things can be in the near future. Employment schemes and new policies and large scale infrastructure is all under the lense of the planetary doughnut.

The testimony of the Amsterdammer’s everyday experience is gathered — building a collage of values, hopes and fears. In other words, the plans are inspired by the perspectives and needs on the ground.

Vlad Hilitanu/Unsplash, Antonel/iStock

The engines mobilising this school of thought are gaining traction and building a blockade to the traditional march toward one track growth. Progress is aspired but isolated ‘growth’ doesn’t fit. Rowarth reminds us of medical growth. It is very rarely an indication of optimal health. If left to grow forever it will prove fatal and kill off the whole! Would the financial disasters of the past have been so critical if the economy had been embedded as part of a whole system rather than an isolated one-way flight?

Coming back to resilience, the doughnut is an eco-system, conscious of its limits and runs on the strength of its diversity.

The abstract attracts my attention and alerts me to the action. Kate Raworth and those working in alignment offer ideas and solutions we can’t afford to dismiss. There are critics and questions out there but I, for one, have to know more. I wonder how I will show up for such change.

Totel.ly is partially funded by Rannis Technology Development Fund and Erasmus+.

Rannis Technology Development Fund Erasmus+

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