Delving into the origins of GDP and the societal fixation on continual growth, the chapter examines the negative impacts of short-term focus in businesses. Contrasting employee-owned sustainable companies with shareholder-driven growth models, it critiques the pressure on businesses for constant expansion. The conversation proposes digital commons and distributive structures as alternatives to the current winner-takes-all model, emphasizing the potential for more socially responsible and cooperative business practices.
Our guest this week is economist Kate Raworth, and in her new book, Doughnut Economics, she sets out seven key ways to fundamentally reframe our understanding of what economics is and does. Along the way, she points out how we can break our addiction to growth; redesign money, finance, and business to be in service to people; and create economies that are regenerative and distributive by design.
Named after the now-iconic “doughnut” image that Raworth first drew to depict a sweet spot of human prosperity (an image that appealed to the Occupy Movement, the United Nations, eco-activists, and business leaders alike), Doughnut Economics offers a radically new compass for guiding global development, government policy, and corporate strategy, and sets new standards for what economic success looks like.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices