The mission of the Doughnut Economics Video Club is to celebrate the smorgasbord of great online videos that feed (however circuitously) into rethinking economics. Last week featured four fab films on capitalism. This week, it’s time for planetary thinking. As Earth system scientist Will Steffen recently told me, if you really want to understand how … Read more
The web is abuzz with great videos on rethinking economics – from 3 minute talking heads to 2 hour documentaries. So I’m launching a video club on this blog to share the best that I’ve watched, to debate and critique their perspectives, and to discover other people’s top recommendations. First up are four fab films … Read more
The call for creating resilience is everywhere – from the financial system to the world food system. So what exactly is it, and how can we take inspiration from the resilient systems that are all around us? If we are to stand a chance of living in the doughnut – that safe and just space … Read more
What should economies be aimed at? For over half a century, the goal has been economic growth – but while the global economy has quadrupled in size since the 1970s, human deprivation persists, environmental degradation is deepening, and inequality is at the heart of it all. It’s clear that we need richer concepts and measures … Read more
So here’s the last of three 10 minute videos giving an alternative introduction to economics – the alternative introduction I wish I’d had. Part 1 looked back at the origins of economics, and the framing influence of its founding fathers. Part 2 took a whirlwind tour through current mainstream and heterodox approaches to economic thinking. Finally, this Part 3 … Read more
Here’s part 2 of a 3 part video introduction to economics. Part 1 looked at the origins of economics. Now this section, Part 2, is a whirlwind tour through the many different branches of economic thinking, showing why there are so many contrasting worldviews within economics. It’s essentially the 10 minute overview that I wish … Read more
I remember well my first economics class: we dived straight in and learned to derive supply and demand curves. Then I became so immersed in trying to get my head around the different definitions of the money supply that it took me a decade to realise I didn’t buy into the whole mindset that I … Read more
Does economic growth have a place in the future of high-income countries? This hotly debated question covers many different debates, each with arguments to be taken seriously on both sides. There’s a long history to the beyond-growth perspective (Mill and Keynes wrote about it, for starters) but here’s a quick overview of current angles on … Read more
For all the high-powered roundtables that were held in Davos last week, here’s one roundtable that couldn’t be found there – but should have been. Imagine a company’s top executives sitting down around this table of planetary and social boundaries (’Ladies and Gentlemen, please, take your seats at the doughnut’…). The CEO places one of … Read more
The RSA have just put out a really nicely produced video of a talk I gave there recently on why we need a new paradigm for economic thinking in the 21st century – or why we need Doughnut Economics. It is just 15 minutes so gives a handy overview of the concepts of planetary and … Read more