Best of #BeyondGrowth 2023 - Kate Raworth

Kate Raworth (‘Ray-worth’) is an ecological economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries and author of the best-selling book, 'Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think like a 21st Century Economist', which has been translated into more than 20 languages. She argues that between the social foundation and the ecological ceiling lies a doughnut shaped space that is both ecologically safe and socially just: a space in which humanity, and our planet, can thrive.
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The Beyond Growth 2023 Conference is a multi-stakeholder event aiming to discuss and co-create policies for sustainable prosperity in Europe, based on a systemic and transformative approach to economic, social and environmental sustainability and its encompassing governance framework.

We aimed to challenge conventional policy-making in the European Union and to redefine societal goals across the board, in order to move away from the harmful focus on the sole economic growth – that is, the growth of GDP – as the basis of our development model. The conference put into practice the idea of a post-growth future-fit EU that combines social well-being and viable economic development with the respect of planetary boundaries.

This three days major event is a cross-party initiative of 20 Members of the European Parliament, supported by a wide-range of partner organisations, which follows the success of the Post-Growth 2018 conference. The conference offered an opportunity for discussion across institutional boundaries and with European citizens. It involved stakeholders from EU and national policymaking, academia, social partners, businesses and civil society organisations.

As it aimed to discuss the future of European citizens, it took place in their house, in the European Parliament (Brussels’ site) from the 15th to the 17th May 2023.
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[mrjonno]

Makes perfect sense to me. We should view our predicament as an opportunity to provide abetter quality of life. I'm sure we can.

[vivayo]

There is hope, follow the bright light into a better future for all. Share and live by it.

[bengtabelsson]

Have anyone read "Animal Farm" ?

[Rnankn]

Our politics have been about quantity. Unfortunately, the rest of the model was outsourced to economics. Their focus on atomized human individualism provides an incomplete picture of value, energy and ecology. In other words, how we measure is as important as what we measure. GDP is not wealth gained, it is wealth spent. The higher GDP goes, the more capacity is exhausted, and the less potential remains. In essence, those individuals and nations that have the lowest GDP are richest. In this sense, since resources are constrained, consumption should not only be meritocratic, it should be rationed. Production and distribution must move from utility and marginal preference, to conditional and austere. So not supply and demand, but availability and proportionality.