Cadmus (Nov 2021)
Repurposing Economies Towards Life
Abstract
On a global scale, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over; we experience forest fires of frightening magnitude, floods and storms scare many people to evacuate their homes. Not only do young people say that time is running out, the latest IPCC 2021 report paints a depressing picture of our collective future and many scientists are increasingly warning of the many negative path dependencies that deteriorate our planetary life-support system. But at the fringes of the mainstream neoliberal economics with mindsets of extraction and wealth accumulation are prototypes of future economies that need to be connected and amplified. This article suggests that the paradigm shift has begun: we need to help it gain speed. Individually, but also on a global scale, people should become aware of their responsibility for a livable future. Without a fundamental change in the global and local economic operating system, the chances to restore, improve and maintain life may be impossible. It is time to go mainstream with repurposing economies. This requires transformation literacy: shifting mindsets, transforming systems and designing transformative change processes. Many authors have suggested approaches to economies of the future. What runs through all of these different approaches for a new economic operating system is the focus on social and ecological vitality. “Life economies” as an overarching term reflects most appropriately what a future can look like that operates in accordance with the needs of people and the planetary life support system. The article shows that across the variety of proposals six guiding principles for life economies come through for which prototypal actions and change processes already exist. None of the set of principles will bring about the breakthrough alone, all need to come together. The article concludes that life economies can become the strategic driver of an attitude of care and contribution.
