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Helpful prior learning and learning objectives
Helpful prior learning and learning objectives
Helpful prior learning:
Helpful prior learning:
Section 1.1.1 The economy and you which explains what an economy is and how it is relevant to students’ lives
Section 1.1.2 The embedded economy, which explains the relationship between the economy and society and Earth’s systems.
Section 1.1.3 Degenerative economies, which explain a number of problems for people and planet with the way our current economies operate
Section S.1 What are systems?, which explains what a system is, the importance of systems boundaries, the difference between open and closed systems and the importance of systems thinking
Section S.2 Systems thinking patterns, which outlines the core components of systems thinking: distinctions (thing/other), systems (part/whole), relationships (action/reaction), and perspectives (point/view)
Learning objectives:
Learning objectives:
outline characteristics of regenerative economies: circular, distributive and caring, needs-based and sufficient
Imagine a lush forest, filled with tall trees, chirping birds and other animals. Now, imagine that forest on fire. You might think a fire destroys the forest and all its life. But forests recover over time through a process called succession.
Immediately after a fire, the forest floor is blackened, but soon after some hardy plant species like mosses and lichens find a home. They release chemicals that break down rocks and as they die and decay, soil is formed creating conditions for more complex plants to take root and provide habitats to animals. Over time, the soil becomes ever richer, and larger plants and trees grow. Over years, the resilient forest regenerates its previous structure and diversity (Figure 1).
What are regenerative economies?
What are regenerative economies?
The economy is all the human systems that transfer and transform energy and matter to meet human needs and wants.
Regenerative economies work like resilient forests. They support human health and relationships and ecosystems so that human beings thrive in balance with one another and nature. They do this by being circular, distributive, caring, needs-based and sufficient. The text below provides an overview of these ideas, which are covered in greater detail in Subtopic 1.4.
Circular economy
In contrast to the current linear economy, a regenerative economy is a circular economy (Section 1.4.2).
Before outlining the principles of a circular economy, it is useful to understand how our economies need to relate to nature to be sustainable. Hermann Daly, a pioneer in ecological economics, suggested three key rules or goals for how economies should use resources:
do not use renewable resources faster than they can be regenerated
emit waste no faster than it can be absorbed safely into ecosystems
deplete nonrenewable resources no faster than renewable substitutes can be developed to replace them.
Circular economies work to achieve these goals by designing products and services from the start so that waste can be processed back into the ecosystem or recycled into new products. They also circulate materials and products again and again, reducing waste. Finally, circular economies actively work to regenerate Earth’s ecosystems in a mutualistic relationship.
The short video below from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation explains the circular economy and its regenerative role.
Distributive and caring economy
Regenerative economies strengthen relationships and social cohesion by enabling people to use time, energy and money to support their families, make and keep friends, and develop community ties.
Regenerative economies strengthen social relationships by being distributive, ensuring that economic benefits are shared widely among stakeholders (Section 1.4.3). Distributive strategies involve an active state/government that promotes economic equality by:
providing financial support when needed
ensuring access to healthcare, food, water, education and other essentials
distributing income and wealth more evenly through minimum wages, progressive taxes and affordable or free services.
Distributive economies share power more equally, including diverse stakeholders in economic decision-making to ensure that we meet the needs of all. Such economies are better able to address shared problems.
Figure 2. Universal health care is one of the most important distributive strategies for human wellbeing
(Credit: World Bank Photo Collection CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Regenerative economies also strengthen social relationships by supporting care (Section 1.3.7 and Section 1.4.4). They recognise the value of human care and care for nature by:
improving infrastructure and social support systems to make it easier to provide care
sharing care more equally among genders and generations
passing laws to protect and support care work
providing enough funding for care.
Needs-based and sufficient economy
Regenerative economies do not aim to grow forever. They recognise that the Earth has limits and that our goal should be to meet the needs of all within the limits of the planet. This requires that we aim for sufficiency rather than endless economic growth. This balance between human needs and planetary limits is captured well by the Doughnut Economics model (Figure 3), which is explored in greater detail in Section 1.3.4.
The inner ring of the model represents the social foundation for meeting human needs: sufficient food and water, access to energy, education and networks, housing incomes, political voice, and other needs discussed in greater detail in Section 1.3.3. The outer ring of the model represents the ecological ceiling, representing Earth’s nine life-supporting systems and their ecological limits discussed in greater detail in Section 1.2.7.
Figure 3. The Doughnut Economics model showing the “safe and just space for humanity”
Regenerative economies leave no one in the hole of the Doughnut without their needs being met, nor exceed the ability of Earth’s systems to support us. This sweet spot is the green Doughnut, the “safe and just space for humanity” where humans can thrive in balance with nature, as economist Kate Raworth describes in the short video below.
The goal of sufficiency does not mean that we give up things that bring us joy. On the contrary, limits tend to support human health and happiness:
relationships: caring relationships provide us security and sharing ensures the most efficient use of limited energy, tools, and other resources
sense of purpose: a sense of purpose, which for some come through faith and spirituality, that helps us focus on caring for and relating to others rather than material consumption
plant-based diet: optimising the energy from plants and fungi low on the food chain (Section 1.2.5) also happens to be healthier for us
physical activity: in environments less dependent on technologies, human labour and energy is needed to feed, clothe, hydrate and shelter ourselves. In places where resources are more limited, healthy physical activity is the norm.
It turns out that limits and sufficiency can be good for us. Limits help us build relationships with others to share our lives and wealth with purpose. Limits help us eat better and be more active. Limits help us to thrive in balance with nature.
Activity 1.1.4
Activity 1.1.4
Concept: Systems
Skills: Thinking skills (creative thinking)
Time: 30 minutes
Type: Individual or pair, preferably group to foster discussion.
Some years ago, a young graphic designer was upset to see the stories on the cover of Girls’ Life magazine. The stories emphasised girls’ looks and fashion and were very different from the stories in the equivalent of Boys’ Life magazine. The graphic designer decided to redesign the cover to emphasise positive, ambitious stories for girls.
We can do the same for other media and the kinds of stories that describe our economies.
Get a hold of a newspaper, or access an online news source. It doesn’t have to be an economics or business section. It can also be the front page of the publication.
Look at the headlines and scan the articles. Identify stories that seem to show degenerative economic activities and also those that show regenerative economic activities. Put the headlines into two sections labelled “degenerative economic activities” and “regenerative economic activities”.
Depending on how much time you have (in order from less time to more time):
Select one of the titles of the degenerative economic news stories and rewrite the title to be a regenerative economic news story
Select more than one of the titles to rewrite
Redesign the entire cover so that all of the stories convey regenerative economic ideas. This could be an art project similar to the magazine cover mentioned at the start of the activity.
Share your rewrites with a partner or a group.
Ideas for longer activities, deeper engagement, and projects are listed in Subtopic 1.5 Taking action
Checking for understanding
Checking for understanding
Further exploration
Further exploration
How do we create a better economy? TED-Ed animated video narrated by Kate Raworth about the problem with endless economic growth and the different vision of the Doughnut Economics model. Difficulty level: easy
Demystifying Degrowth - a short animation from the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung that explains the concept of degrowth, which is about meeting human needs within the means of the planet through sufficiency and regeneration. Difficulty level: easy
It takes a village: the Indian farmers who built a wall against drought - News article about a village in India that built infrastructure to prevent water runoff, regenerate soils, and support access to food and local livelihoods. What characteristics of regenerative economies can you find in the story? Difficulty level: easy
Capitalism | FULL DEBATE | Doha Debates w/ Jason Hickel, Anand Giridharadas, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim - A debate between three different perspectives on the role of economic growth in meeting human needs within planetary boundaries. Difficulty: medium
Sources
Sources
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. How to Build a Circular Economy. ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. London: Penguin Random House
Wellbeing Economy Alliance. (2019). “What is a wellbeing economy?” https://wellbeingeconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/A-WE-Is-WEAll-Ideas-Little-Summaries-of-Big-Issues-4-Dec-2019.pdf
Terminology (in order of appearance)
Terminology (in order of appearance)
succession: the process where communities of plants and animals develop over time, becoming more complex and diverse until a stable state is reached
resilient: able to recover after a disturbance
regenerate: the process of restoring and revitalising something
economy: all the human-made systems that transfer and transform energy and matter to meet human needs
transfer: to move something from one place to another
transform: a change in the state, energy or chemical nature of something
energy: the ability to do work or cause change
matter: anything that takes up space and has mass
regenerative economy: an economic systems that meets human needs in a way that strengthens social and ecological systems
ecosystem: the interaction of groups of organisms with each other and their physical environment
circular: having the form of a circle; in this course, closing the loop on linear economic systems
distributive: when something is widely or evenly divided or shared among individuals
sufficient: when there is enough of something
linear economy: an economic system where resources are extracted to make products that eventually end up as waste
circular economy: an economic system where nature is regenerated and materials are kept in circulation through maintenance, reuse, recycling, composting, and other processes
sustainable: meeting human needs within planetary limits
ecological economics: a strand of economics that studies the relationship between human economies and ecosystems
renewable resource: natural resources that can be regenerated in a human timescale
nonrenewable resource: natural resources that cannot be regenerated in a human timescale
mutualism: a relationship between two species in which both species benefit
social cohesion: the extent to which people in society feel connected to one another and share common values
stakeholder: a person who has an interest in or is impacted by some activity
economic equality: equal distribution of income and opportunity between different groups in society
income: the ongoing money earned (flow) from work or investments
wealth: the total value (stock) of someone’s assets such as money, house, or investments
minimum wage: the lowest wage permitted by law or other agreement
progressive tax: a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases
distributive economy: an economy that shares economic benefits and power more evenly among individuals
power: the ability to influence events or the behaviour of other people
care: the act of providing what is necessary for the health, welfare, upkeep, and protection of someone or something
infrastructure: large scale physical systems that a society needs to function (roads, railways, electricity networks, etc)
sufficient: an amount of something that is enough
economic growth: an increase in the total value of goods and services produced in a period of time
Doughnut Economics model: a visual framework shaped like a doughnut that emphasises the need to achieve the social foundation (human needs) within planetary boundaries
social foundation: the conditions that humans need to survive and thrive
ecological ceiling: the limits of Earth's systems to support life
consumption: using resources and products to meet needs
food chain: a series of organisms, each one dependent on the one before it as food; shows the transfer and transformation of energy and matter through living organisms in an ecosystem
degrowth: a planned, coherent policy of reducing production and consumption to reduce ecological impact, reduce inequality, and improve well-being
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