This context and these questions led us to agree on the need to advance our organisational thinking on how to spark system change in these times of disruption and to search for existing alternative socio economic models and practices, aligned with Greenpeace's values.

With this in mind, we decided to tap into the collective imagination and knowledge of non-Western societies which offer an alternative perspective to the dominant status quo of globalized Northern/Western power. To this end we specifically began research with a focus on Global South geographies, drawing attention to what is often invisible by exploring what are the historical as well as new concepts which are not entering the mainstream due to the dominance of capitalism and Western culture.

We started by mapping out the most relevant existing alternative macro socio-economic models and practices, identifying the main problem that each alternative model aims to tackle, its core elements and main proposals, its narratives, barriers to mainstream and illustrated case studies/implementation experiments to showcase how it translates into real life. We have not included this research in this document for readability but could share if there is interest in exploring the whole process in detail.

We also identified attempts to bring together movements and organisations representing alternative economy approaches such as the Radical Ecological Democracy network (India, Global South), the Réseau intercontinental de promotion de l'économie sociale solidaire - RIPESS (Global South/Global North) or the WellBeing Economy Alliance, an online connecting platform (Global North), as well as several overviews of alternative `movements´ - such as the essays on Degrowth in Movements (2017) and Systemic Alternatives (2017). Other movements and sectorial alternatives that we explored include Buen Vivir, The Commons, Deglobalisation, Ecofeminism, Ecosocialism, Postgrowth, Rights of Mother Earth, Social and Solidarity Economy, Food Sovereignty, Energy Sovereignty and the Slow Circular Economy.

We factored in some of the most relevant challenges that Global South societies face: colonial legacy; a prominent informal economy; the undermining of Indigenous communities; high indebtedness and high annual payments; extractivism or high dependency on foreign currency, noting that the capitalististic system limits many of the aspirations for access to infrastructure, for meeting human needs and for providing sufficient levels for people and planet to flourish, as they seem to currently only be afforded with access to foreign currency, debt or with an extractivist model. All of these challenges have led to increased inequalities and polarisation within and between countries, and have made the Global South more vulnerable to extractivism and climate change.

As a result of this exploration, we came up with principles that can serve as a starting point and form the foundation for any alternative socio economic system we support. Then we came up with some concrete ideas and proposals for change, on how to translate these principles into something tangible on the ground.

Once we agreed on a theory of change, we started exploring how to translate it into stories that people can relate to by asking ourselves questions such as: if we were to tell stories about our vision for the future - in our myriad languages - what kinds of words would we use?; if the future is not all about “development” “progress” and “growth” what kinds of adjectives describe it? In these stories, who are the characters? We believe that words do not only describe, they create and so they contain immense power and potency. This piece is still in the works and we hope to have a more complete assessment of the outcomes any time soon with the idea to share it with our allies as a starting point for potential collaborations.

Now we are at the stage of seeking - to identify allies to work with and spark a societal conversation to build a better future by creating a new radical mindset and power shift that puts people and nature at the centre of development.

1. Movements and macroeconomic models supporting Greenpeace’s mission and values and overarching campaign goals, in particular:

• Wellbeing (as opposed to profit) becomes the primary lens

• Global reforms that abandon the growth paradigm, market fundamentalism, patriarchy, colonial legacy and build a new contract between people and nature

• Empowerment of people and communities

• Green Recovery policies that put us on track to stop climate chaos
  

2. Proposals offering some reflection or discussion around:

• • Moving away from extractivism, led by people and for people

  • Support and greater recognition of the informal sector

  • Alternative measures to economic prosperity

There are a huge number of alternative economy approaches, theories, proposals and experiments already being actively developed, discussed and implemented. Many of them are small scale or not interconnected and thus, not very visible.

The latest and most comprehensive exercise in mapping meta-movements and visions is The Pluriverse - A Post Development Dictionary; authors Arturo Escobar, Ashish Kothari and others explain that “The dominant Western development model is a homogenizing construct, one that has usually been adopted by people across the world under material duress. The counter-term ‘post-development’ implies a myriad of systemic critiques and ways of living.” ... “What has been missing is a broad transcultural compilation of concrete concepts, worldviews, and practices from around the world, challenging the modernist ontology of universalism in favour of a multiplicity of possible worlds. This is what it means to call for a pluriverse.”

Arturo Escobar goes on to explain that “ such a Pluriverse is built on the concept of diversity within a whole Earth system, a multiplicity of worlds and peoples coexisting within the Planet. This is the first meaning of the Pluriverse. The Pluriverse also connotes life’s ceaselessness, always flowing, constantly changing owing to interdependence of all aspects of living systems. In theory, even capitalism would have the right to exist within the Pluriverse, but only constrained to become one among many coexisting systems, at which point “it will cease to be capitalism as we know it”.

We want to challenge the idea that there is only one form of development and that all countries must follow the same Western capitalist model that has led to the progressive destruction of the ecosystem, poverty, inequality and violence in our societies. We urgently need development that considers equity, sustainability, equality, wellbeing, and rural communities. We want to create the space for new thinking around alternative ideas to promote development that is based on the collective wellbeing of both humans and nature - with the sense that community needs to be at core (as in the Nguni Bantu term and concept "ubuntu" loosely translated to mean “I am because we are”) and should not be mixed/co-opted by 'Individualism". There are different countries, with different cultures, so there are different approaches of development that can be adapted to any circumstances.

If you have questions about this document or our Alternative Futures work, want to provide feedback or become a collaborator, you can send an email to Paula Tejon Carbajal or Catherine Rodgers.