We've got to use earth' resources to meet people's needs, but not so much that we tip this planet out of balance. So the circle suddenly looks like a doughnut with a hole in the middle. We want to leave nobody in the hole in themiddle of the doughnut. Get everybody over thi afoundation,. so everyone can lead a life of dignity and community and opportunity. The goal, in the simplest terms, is to meet the needs of all people within the means of the living planet.
When Kate Raworth began studying economics, she was disappointed that the mainstream version of the discipline didn’t fully address many of the world issues that she wanted to tackle, such as human rights and environmental destruction. She left the field, but was inspired to jump back in after the financial crisis of 2008, when she saw an opportunity to introduce fresh perspectives. She sat down and drew a chart in the shape of a doughnut, which provided a way to think about our economic system while accounting for the impact to the world around us, as well as for humans’ baseline needs. Kate’s framing can teach us a lot about how to transform the economic model of the technology industry, helping us move from a system that values addicted, narcissistic, polarized humans to one that values healthy, loving and collaborative relationships. Her book, “Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist,” gives us a guide for transitioning from a 20th-century paradigm to an evolved 21st-century one that will address our existential-scale problems.