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519 reviews for:
Die Donut-Ökonomie: Endlich ein Wirtschaftsmodell, das den Planeten nicht zerstört
Kate Raworth
4.21 AVERAGE
519 reviews for:
Die Donut-Ökonomie: Endlich ein Wirtschaftsmodell, das den Planeten nicht zerstört
Kate Raworth
4.21 AVERAGE
Mooie kijk op de economie van de toekomst. Af en toe wat langdradig en soms zelfingenomen.
A fascinating if sometimes difficult book. If I can be so bold as to talk about what I saw as the big takeaways, there are two that really jump out at me: One, today's societies are addicted to GNP growth, and it often seems that this growth is for its own sake. As Raworth puts it, "We have an economy that needs to grow, whether or not it makes us thrive; we need an economy that makes us thrive, whether or not it grows." The other overarching point is the concept of the doughnut itself. Basically, there is in society (one might better say humanity) a "sweet spot" that is the doughnut itself, what Raworth calls a "safe, just space." In the middle of the doughnut hole can be envisioned many of society's ills, such as poverty, hunger, wealth inequality, lack of a political voice, etc. High-income societies such as the United States and much of Europe have been able, obviously only to a certain extent, address many of these problems, but at the cost of tremendous overuse of planetary resources which puts the ability of Earth to sustain us at risk. It then of course follows that the outside of the doughnut represents the unsustainable overuse of these resources: clean water, food, energy sources, and so on. Reading this book IS a challenge, but a worthwhile one.
Mrs. Raworth is one of the most important economists of our times, in my humble opinion. In this book she clearly lays out how capitalism arose, where it went wrong and why the eternal growth paradigm it is completely unsustainable.
Then she builds a new model. One where humankind stays within the boundaries of the planet's sustainable limits (the outer layer of the doughnut), and has a basic social foundation for all (the inner ring of the doughnut).
An important book, well worth the read.
Then she builds a new model. One where humankind stays within the boundaries of the planet's sustainable limits (the outer layer of the doughnut), and has a basic social foundation for all (the inner ring of the doughnut).
An important book, well worth the read.
In this book, Kate Raworth synthesizes various economic ideas which update the limitations of classical economics. The book is structured around 7 key ideas. Each chapter addresses one of the ideas in moderate depth.
Before getting into the details, I'll note two things about the book that I did not like. First, Raworth is rather overfond of gimmicky presentations of ideas. For example, she spends over long discussing the importance of imagery in communicating ideas. Second, the writing style tends to fall into the "hero vs. villain" framing, with traditional economics taking on the role of villain. I look at this in contrast to a book like The Origin of Wealth which is just as critical of traditional economics but which leaves the reader feeling both respect for the true insights that went into traditional economics as well as seeing its limitations.
What I like about the book is that it synthesizes ideas from different areas: complexity economics, regenerative and distributive economics, and more. While none of the ideas are really new—even the author's doughnut is a visualization of existing ideas—bringing them together in one place creates connections that might not be as obvious when we experience the ideas separately.
So what are these ideas? Well, you could just read the table of contents. It's a pretty good summary. But for the sake of the review, I'll note them:
Change the goal: We need to move from growth as a goal for its own sake to a goal of staying within the zone where human rights are met universally while staying within global limits of sustainability. As the author says, we need to achieve, "human prosperity in a flourishing web of life."
See the big picture: Instead of looking at the market economy as a system separate from others, we should see it as embedded within a broader context. The household provides the foundation of the economy. It is supported by the market, the state, and the commons. Each of these can solve different types of problems, and they work best when they work together. These are embedded within society which is embedded within the earth. Seeing the market economy as embedded opens us to the possibility that markets are only one tool for solving problems, and not always the best.
Nurture human nature: Humans are not perfectly rational or focused only on narrow self interest. We are social and adaptable. We have fluid values that vary by context. We are interdependent. We approximate. Finally, we are embedded in nature. Accepting human nature as it is changes the shape of the problem economics needs to solve.
Get savvy with systems: The economy is not a static equilibrium system. It is a complex adaptive system. As such, we need to apply the tools of understanding complex adaptive systems to understanding the economy. One way we can do this is by changing the way we think about the economy from a mechanical metaphor to a more ecological metaphor, such as gardening. This highlights ideas such as stewardship, experimentation & adaptation, diversity, resilience, healthy hierarchy, and self-organization.
Design to distribute: Meeting the needs of everyone means reducing inequality. Inequality has often been assumed as an intermediate state on the path to prosperity. However, we have found that inequality doesn't reduce automatically. Instead, we should think about designing distribution into the system. By this, Raworth does not mean that we should focus on taxation, although it has a role to play. Rather, we should think about how to create wider access to the means of wealth creation. The systems we have in place around, for example, enterprise ownership or technology and knowledge distribution build in many constraints and assumptions that lead to inequality down the line.
Create to regenerate: Most industrial processes today are linear, going from resource use to dump with consumer usage in between. However, the cycle does not need to be linear. We can imagine cycles where waste products are utilized and where products are refurbished and modified and eventually recycled.
Be agnostic about growth: Growth, and in particular, GDP growth, is seen as the goal of modern economies. Instead, we should be agnostic about growth. We should focus our goals on maintaining at least a minimal standard of living for everyone while remaining within the bounds of sustainability (the doughnut). If that involves growth, that's fine. If that doesn't involve growth, that's fine too. As the author puts it, "We have an economy that needs to grow, whether or not it makes us thrive. We need an economy that makes us thrive, whether or not it grows."
Overall, while this book is not as profound as it presents itself, it contains a solid summary of many interesting ideas.
Before getting into the details, I'll note two things about the book that I did not like. First, Raworth is rather overfond of gimmicky presentations of ideas. For example, she spends over long discussing the importance of imagery in communicating ideas. Second, the writing style tends to fall into the "hero vs. villain" framing, with traditional economics taking on the role of villain. I look at this in contrast to a book like The Origin of Wealth which is just as critical of traditional economics but which leaves the reader feeling both respect for the true insights that went into traditional economics as well as seeing its limitations.
What I like about the book is that it synthesizes ideas from different areas: complexity economics, regenerative and distributive economics, and more. While none of the ideas are really new—even the author's doughnut is a visualization of existing ideas—bringing them together in one place creates connections that might not be as obvious when we experience the ideas separately.
So what are these ideas? Well, you could just read the table of contents. It's a pretty good summary. But for the sake of the review, I'll note them:
Change the goal: We need to move from growth as a goal for its own sake to a goal of staying within the zone where human rights are met universally while staying within global limits of sustainability. As the author says, we need to achieve, "human prosperity in a flourishing web of life."
See the big picture: Instead of looking at the market economy as a system separate from others, we should see it as embedded within a broader context. The household provides the foundation of the economy. It is supported by the market, the state, and the commons. Each of these can solve different types of problems, and they work best when they work together. These are embedded within society which is embedded within the earth. Seeing the market economy as embedded opens us to the possibility that markets are only one tool for solving problems, and not always the best.
Nurture human nature: Humans are not perfectly rational or focused only on narrow self interest. We are social and adaptable. We have fluid values that vary by context. We are interdependent. We approximate. Finally, we are embedded in nature. Accepting human nature as it is changes the shape of the problem economics needs to solve.
Get savvy with systems: The economy is not a static equilibrium system. It is a complex adaptive system. As such, we need to apply the tools of understanding complex adaptive systems to understanding the economy. One way we can do this is by changing the way we think about the economy from a mechanical metaphor to a more ecological metaphor, such as gardening. This highlights ideas such as stewardship, experimentation & adaptation, diversity, resilience, healthy hierarchy, and self-organization.
Design to distribute: Meeting the needs of everyone means reducing inequality. Inequality has often been assumed as an intermediate state on the path to prosperity. However, we have found that inequality doesn't reduce automatically. Instead, we should think about designing distribution into the system. By this, Raworth does not mean that we should focus on taxation, although it has a role to play. Rather, we should think about how to create wider access to the means of wealth creation. The systems we have in place around, for example, enterprise ownership or technology and knowledge distribution build in many constraints and assumptions that lead to inequality down the line.
Create to regenerate: Most industrial processes today are linear, going from resource use to dump with consumer usage in between. However, the cycle does not need to be linear. We can imagine cycles where waste products are utilized and where products are refurbished and modified and eventually recycled.
Be agnostic about growth: Growth, and in particular, GDP growth, is seen as the goal of modern economies. Instead, we should be agnostic about growth. We should focus our goals on maintaining at least a minimal standard of living for everyone while remaining within the bounds of sustainability (the doughnut). If that involves growth, that's fine. If that doesn't involve growth, that's fine too. As the author puts it, "We have an economy that needs to grow, whether or not it makes us thrive. We need an economy that makes us thrive, whether or not it grows."
Overall, while this book is not as profound as it presents itself, it contains a solid summary of many interesting ideas.
This book is brilliant!! Well worth reading whether you are an economist or not. Raworth is so articulate and thoughtful and sets out a profound vision for how we can- and must- reorder our priorities both to address massive inequity and poverty, as well as the global threats of climate change and resource depletion. She profoundly questions the underlying motives for our current economic systems and offers an incredibly compelling set of alternatives. Such an important book- it could change the world in incredibly good ways if enough of us digest and take up her ideas.
The aim of this book is to rewrite the essential notions taught to economics students through textbooks that have narrowed our collective vision. Whether it’s through diagrams that boil the economy down to supply and demand, the ludicrous obsession with GDP and GDP growth as measures of progress, or basic “truths” that have been drilled into us, such as the belief that inequality is necessary, economics has fallen into the tar pits of time and grinded to a halt as a department/study. It seems that economics is something that every other profession talks about as if it’s a set issue and that we know everything about it that we feasibly can. Yet the largest problem is that any decisions made about or in regard to economics always are made with the same framework of outdated beliefs supporting them. We think that the world economy is an unknowable, unchangeable, force that we are subject to, yet we have the ability to modify its systems to be more distributive. Especially in a world where more economies and nations aim to redistribute wealth and the means to a comfortable lifestyle the fact that these changes are all being made around the economy and not through it is mindboggling. Furthermore, when it comes to climate change our economies need to become tools that can help us attain goals such as lowering emissions or lifting more people out of poverty, instead of being the institution that demands such things occur, as if they were the fuel that keeps the lights on. We are always striving for more and that’s an incentive instilled by the way that we view and treat the economy, so why not try to change that in the hopes of freeing us from these bonds that weigh not just on our monetary health, but our psychological and physical health as well. In the end this book is a nice introduction to thinking about economics empathetically, removing the coldness that is associated with the field and instead adding a level of understanding as to how these numbers and systems truly impact individual people’s lives, instead of looking at everything as a simple metric that needs to be fixed or shifted.
Main 7 ways to change our view to that of a 21st century economist:
Change the Goal, See the Big Picture, Nurture Human Nature, Get Savvy with Systems, Design to Distribute, Create to Regenerate, Be Agnostic about Growth
Main 7 ways to change our view to that of a 21st century economist:
Change the Goal, See the Big Picture, Nurture Human Nature, Get Savvy with Systems, Design to Distribute, Create to Regenerate, Be Agnostic about Growth
informative
fast-paced
Interesting book, raises a lot of points that deserve to be discussed. It's just not as radical as it needs to be, falls into strange neoliberal thinking at weird moments, and never sufficiently gets into the analysis enough to be truly important (the crypto stuff really stands out in that regard). Overall disappointing.
This was a great economics book.
Really enjoyed this book.
I learned a lot about circular economics and environmentalism.
It had great descriptions - a very good learning book.
A great read for all sectors.
3.9/5
Really enjoyed this book.
I learned a lot about circular economics and environmentalism.
It had great descriptions - a very good learning book.
A great read for all sectors.
3.9/5
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This is how our economic system/thinking has gone wrong, and how it needs to change, and as soon as possible, if civilisation has a hope of surviving past the next 100-200 years.
Very informative, very easy to comprehend (i have no economics schooling) and definitely made me rethink a few assumptions, as well as giving hope that a better world can be imagined and /is/ possible. A few blind spots, not considering some of the consequences of the solutions when in general it is advocating a systems thinking approach. It says a lot that this very practical, centrist, liberal, reasonable (hardly radical, ultimately its not saying to smash capitalism/the financial markets, just for it to take a very different form) thinking is considered sooo far from the current status quo, with its incredibly perverse and misguided but normalised incentives
Very informative, very easy to comprehend (i have no economics schooling) and definitely made me rethink a few assumptions, as well as giving hope that a better world can be imagined and /is/ possible. A few blind spots, not considering some of the consequences of the solutions when in general it is advocating a systems thinking approach. It says a lot that this very practical, centrist, liberal, reasonable (hardly radical, ultimately its not saying to smash capitalism/the financial markets, just for it to take a very different form) thinking is considered sooo far from the current status quo, with its incredibly perverse and misguided but normalised incentives
A thought-provoking read about the problems with modern economics. I agree with the problems mentioned in the book and that the simplified models we use in economics leave a lot of important factors out. But overall I found the proposed solutions to be unsatisfactory. Perhaps this was intentional in order to motivate the development of new practical solutions in the future? Either way, I think most of the proposed solutions would apply only in a utopian world which is far from our current state of affairs.
There were a lot of interesting side notes in the book that made me enjoy it. For example, I had never heard of complementary currencies before and I find it fascinating how a new currency can be created not to compete with but to help the currency of a state and the people living there. I’ve added “Rethinking Money” by Bernard Lietaer to my TBR because of this.
There were a lot of interesting side notes in the book that made me enjoy it. For example, I had never heard of complementary currencies before and I find it fascinating how a new currency can be created not to compete with but to help the currency of a state and the people living there. I’ve added “Rethinking Money” by Bernard Lietaer to my TBR because of this.