Module 2: Why a wellbeing economy?
Working towards the same goal
The position on the need for economic systems change and the design principles for getting there are widely shared across the economic movements on the wellbeing economy picnic blanket (Module 1.5), which together we refer to here as the ‘post-growth’ movement. Even though different parts of the post-growth movement use different terminology, they are all working towards the same goal of wellbeing for all on a healthy planet.
For example, steady-state economics starts from the idea that the economy is a subsystem embedded in a finite natural environment of limited resources and vulnerable ecosystems [2] [3]. It argues that the economy must maintain itself in a steady state as an indication of stability and maturity.
The importance of finding a balanced ‘safe and just’ space for the economy, one that does not exceed planetary boundaries while guaranteeing the basic needs of people worldwide’ is also at the heart of doughnut economics and the wellbeing economy [4] [5].
The degrowth movement emphasises the need for a planned reduction of energy and resource use to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a way that reduces inequality and improves human wellbeing [6]. It highlights the need to actively reduce economic activities that generate environmental damage and concentrate wealth in the hands of a few. It focuses on a reduction pathway that targets excess production and consumption, as well as the need for distributional justice - both within and between countries [7] [8].
Degrowth, steady-state economics, doughnut economics, and the wellbeing economy are all strongly related, as planned degrowth of economic activities that are harmful for social and environmental wellbeing is necessary to achieve the vision of an economy that is in balance and operates in service of social and ecological wellbeing.
A 'wellbeing economy' or an 'economy of wellbeing'?
A wellbeing economy differs from an ‘economy of wellbeing’. The sequencing of the words here is telling. The 'economy of wellbeing' maintains an 'economy first' approach and typically refers to the integration of wellbeing considerations into growth-oriented economic policies. The economy of wellbeing tends to argue that there is a virtuous cycle between wellbeing and economic growth and that investing in wellbeing is therefore also good for growth. This misses the fundamental points of post-growth movements.
References
[1] Hamilton, C. (1998). Cover Story: ‘Economic Growth and Social Decline: How Our Measures of Prosperity Are Taking Us down the Wrong Path’. AQ (Balmain, N.S.W.), 70(3), 22–30.
[2] Daly, H.E. (1973)."Toward a Steady-State Economy." In: H.E. Daly (Ed.) Steady-State Economics: Essays on Biophysical Economics and Sustainable Development, San Francisco: W.H. Freeman.
[3] Mill, J.S. (1848). Principles of Political Economy: With Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy. London: J.W. Parker.
[4] Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. London: Penguin Random House UK
[5] Trebeck, K. and Walliams, J. (2019). The Economics of Arrival - Ideas for a Grown-Up Economy. Policy Press
[6] Hickel, J. (2021). What does degrowth mean? A few points of clarification. Globalizations, 18(7), 1105–1111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2020.1812222
[7] Hickel, J. (2020). Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. London: William Heinemann
[8] Kallis, G., Paulson, S., D'Alisa, G., and Demaria, F. (2020). The Case for Degrowth. Cambridge: Polity.