SystemShift Podcast Season Two: Towards a Wellbeing Economy
Greenpeace
Global campaigning network with 25 independent national/regional entities, and a coordinating entity, GP International.
What is a Wellbeing Economy?
A Wellbeing Economy prioritises ecological preservation and human flourishing over mere growth and wealth maximisation. It’s an economy designed to serve people and the planet, not the other way around.
Grapple with problems
We are at a point in history where people in many countries are finding themselves under increasing pressure from a cost-of-living crisis to existential threats like war, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Many of us find ourselves burdened, disenchanted, and yearning for solutions.
We asked members of the public about their prime concerns: “I worry about whether or not I'm going to be working until I'm 80 or 90 - if I'm going to be able to retire…My biggest worry is for the future and my kids, because we are foreigners and we don't have papers…My biggest worry is not being able to have somewhere secure to live and to exist comfortably.”
Against that backdrop of dark clouds, SystemShift Podcast Season Two paves the way for knowledge, hope, and change, leading us to envision what a wellbeing economy could look like and how we can get there. This season is more than a podcast: it's a transformative journey - part treasure hunt, part detective thriller - revealing the myths and disinformation that cloud our understanding of the failing economic and financial systems and taking us on a quest to a sustainable future.
Understanding the Current Landscape
At the heart of season two lies a critical examination of how people are being exploited by a economic system that perpetuates corruption and injustice, and exerts a heavy mental health toll. Throughout this second season, we will be tapping into our audience’s concerns and anxieties, showing how we can reshape the economy so that it will lead to positive changes for the environment and in our own lives.
Unmasking Authoritarianism
Our new season kicks off with Slovenian philosopher, Renata Salecl, who lays bare the fraying fabric of our communities, examining corporate exploitation and the unsettling rise of new authoritarianism that capitalises on societal disconnection: “In times of crisis, we see established a kind of a temporary state of exception which then becomes much more permanent, altering the democratic mechanisms and opening doors for new mechanisms of surveillance. Crises have been used over the last twenty years or so to reshape society into a much more anti-democratic, authoritarian leaning and surveillance-obsessed society.”
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Renata explains how the relentless pursuit of overproduction and overconsumption can culminate in guilt, anxiety, and a lack of empathy amidst cutthroat competition. “There is a ‘winner takes all’ logic at work in today's capitalism. The idea is that you have to ruin your competitors, you have to be ruthless. For some time now, this kind of ruthlessness has been glorified as a stepping stone to success, with other people seen as tools for your success and then you discard them when you don't need them anymore.”
A Wellbeing Revolution
In the second episode, Amanda Janoo, Economics and Policy Lead at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, guides us how we can reshape economic models. She explains how the system generates wealth but results in widespread dissatisfaction, and that this is prompting a quest to redefine what constitutes a good life. “The two qualities that are most highly correlated with happiness are generosity and contentment - and the current economic system does not encourage us to be either of those things.”
For Amanda, the economy is a tool to serve society and the planet. Her starting point for the journey is to evaluate the economy’s capacity to ensure that everybody has the necessary foundations to live a life of dignity and purpose. “Once you centre social and ecological wellbeing, then the type of economic activities or work that you see as most valuable is ultimately going to change. And so work which is done for care and connection and the regeneration of society starts to come into view as the kind of work we really want to value and encourage and reward.”
We are the economy
Crucially, Amanda sees the wellbeing economy as a collective endeavor in which people from diverse backgrounds come together to reimagine and reshape the economy in line with our different goals and objectives. “It's really about starting from that recognition that we are the economy: it’s a system that we design, and that we are a part of every day. It is a system that is constantly transforming and that we have the power to redesign.”
As we navigate the shadows of the current polycrisis, SystemShift Podcast Season Two invites you to be part of a transformative journey towards a Wellbeing Economy. Subscribe now and join the quest to reshape our economic future, where knowledge, hope, and collective action pave the way for a sustainable and flourishing world for all. Your journey into positive change starts here!
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SystemShift comes from Greenpeace Nordic and is hosted by Greenpeace Sweden campaigner, Carl Schlyter, and produced by Alexia Fridén, with additional support from Zane Ford, Christian Aslund and Attila Kulcsár.
Wellness Tech Entrepreneur | Leveraging Design & Psychology to Innovate Wellbeing Solutions.
8moShifting towards a Wellbeing Economy is crucial, not just for sustainable growth, but also for human prosperity. In my experience, prioritizing ecological preservation has ripple effects on communities and economies. How can we further advocate for this shift in today's world? Thank you, Greenpeace, for leading this important conversation.
So true.
Capitalism is constantly refining itself so it is not surprising that it will always seek to access every last dime of disposable income. 21st century capitalism is more than ever defined by global oligarchy whereby prices are pushed up by supply, not demand. Disposable incomes are put more under pressure and people are having to work harder to earn the same, which will buy less, with the shortfall being "provided" by debt. That can not last. When you factor that in with the end of low cost manufacturing as China leverages its embedded position in the global economic ecosystem as the world's workshop then we see economic collapse and an increase in global poverty. When people are finding it difficult to buy enough food then environmental concerns become less important.