Why we need to prioritise wellbeing over growth
Five decades since The Limits to Growth report argued that increasing populations and industrial development were pushing humanity over the edge, new concerns about global warming, inequality and mental illness are reinforcing the view that measuring progress by economic activity alone is too reductive.
The New Zealand Government’s Wellbeing Outlook, to take one example, recognises that traditional measures of success, such as GDP growth, are not what matters most to people. Human capability, the natural environment, and social cohesion should be incorporated alongside physical and financial capital.
The aim is to involve local non-profit organisations, government, businesses, and communities to test and assess projects — such as the recently launched social innovation fund to support young entrepreneurs.
Urban innovation requires not just an assemblage of projects and practices, but a more ambitious approach that reflects on the past and imagines the future. Artists play an important role in spurring imagination and bringing participants together, while a wide range of groups is experimenting with sharing power, funding decisions, and building trust.
Several models are already under way. Doughnut Economics Action Lab — a movement based on the bestselling book by economist Kate Raworth about living within social and planetary boundaries — has been adopted by Amsterdam and more than 40 other cities including Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Ipoh in Malaysia and El Monte in Chile are experimenting with it.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances
