Wellbeing at the core
Wellbeing at the core
Embedded Files
Challenge the concept of GDP and growth
Challenge the concept of GDP and growth
The paradigm of development and growth is replaced with the paradigm of redistribution and equity. Alternative indicators such as wellbeing need to be recognised as better measures of a successful society instead of using GDP as "the ultimate measure of a country's overall welfare", which is overly focused on the monetary value of the goods and services produced. Instead, development should ensure that the production and distribution of stuff increases welfare across the board, with benefits such as longer lives or a better health system (currently lacking, as the pandemic has shown). Working less is good for the health and overall wellbeing of people, while productivity and the number of jobs increase, greenhouse gas emissions drop and people spend more time with their family and friends doing the things they love and care about.
Incentivise economic activities that restore wellbeing and nature
Incentivise economic activities that restore wellbeing and nature
Social justice is crucial to protect nature; nature protects us all. Benefits for people, climate and biodiversity cannot be played off against each other. Our economy and society needs to diversify away from extractivism and wasteful consumption, and instead invest in nature’s life support systems, the reduction of inequity and inequality and towards the wellbeing of the population. The system of overproduction, consumerism and waste driven by large corporations must come to an end. Valuing oceans and forests for the collective benefit provides us with healthy, living ecosystems in terms of clean air and protection against climate disruption, rather than corporate profit for the commodities extracted through natural destruction.
Work less and better
Work less and better
A strategy for decent work, both in its content (what is being produced and why) and in its form (how is it being produced and by whom) as well as a strategy to construct a less work-centred society, is central for the health and wellbeing of a society.
Proposals for structural change (
set of policies, practices and investments)
Proposals for structural change (
set of policies, practices and investments)
Shifting the social norm from work-time to ‘quality time’, and reducing working hours per week e.g. four day working week for everyone, maintaining salaries and facilitation of volunteer work, while avoiding negative outcomes such as work being shifted to volunteers, to automation (to the extent that is possible and not using reduced working hours as an excuse), and providing incentives to employers to avoid them being impacted.
Push for policies and practices that reduce professional travel and incentivise teleworking.
Prioritising decent work - in its content (what is being produced and why) and in its form (how is it being produced and by whom), and towards greater self-management, as well as with equal conditions and labour rights between men and women.
Creation of green jobs, care jobs and training programmes to address unemployment, and decarbonise our economy.
Create and support Distributed Cooperative Organisations (DisCOs) - an approach to people working together to create value in ways that are cooperative, commons-oriented and rooted in feminist economics. Platform and Open Cooperatives fit in here as they promote the cooperative as the closest model to the interaction of the Commons with the market, where those who create the value also own it and thus, prompt the distribution of wealth. DisCOs are amplified by the power of Distributed Ledger/Blockchain technologies, harnessing the utility of technology without being completely tech-centric, emphasizing mutual trust and remembering to have fun.
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