Elevate Economics

Labour’s core policy focus in the last budget is economic growth (rise in GDP).

GDP will rise when there’s ‘new output’ regardless of creating new well-being.

GDP rises for every tree cut down, oil spill cleaned up, weapon exported despite destruction to life, ecosystems, climate. GDP ignores the essential value of the care economy; the value of care for children and elderly without which society would collapse and there would be no future workforces and the commons, such as a local river or seed bank, as important provisioning systems and value as no transactions are taking place. There are many alternative measures and countries are already using them.

Our economic system is still built on an outdated Cartesian 17th century dualist, mechanistic world view: of parts, of separation, competition. Reality: one of interdependent living #whole #systems, of need for #cooperation. GDP as a measure of well-being is part of this reductionist world view.

What’s an alternative to GDP? There are many other metrics.

– GPI, the genuine progress indicator has 26 dimensions. It subtracts ecologically and socially destructive activity and adds the value of ‘care’ in society e.g of children, of voluntary work and other key provision non transactional value ignored by GDP

– There’s HDI, the Human Development Indicator which includes life expectancy, mean years of education and purchasing power (GNI per capita Purchasing Power Parity)

– There’s the GNH, Gross National Happiness Index, which in Bhutan has four pillars: equitable socioeconomic development, ecological sustainability, preservation + promotionof culture, good governance and equality in law.

-There’s the Doughnut model which incorporates the Stockholm Resilience Institute’s nine planetary boundaries and social foundations. There are many more.

Source: https://doughnuteconomics.org/

– These aren’t out of reach. They’re already in use both at municipal and country levels. Countries like New Zealand, Netherlands, Bhutan, Iceland have incorporated well-being metrics in their core policy focus. For example, Doughnut Economics, is currently being used most prominently in Amsterdam.

Why isn’t the UK?

#gdpalternatives #ecologicaljustice #genuineprogressindicator #gnh #hdi #degrowth #postgrowth #economics #doughnut #economics #interdepen dence #cooperation #sufficiency #systemsthinking #wellbeing