Kate Raworth asks us to consider a new meaning of progress...
Instead of pursuing endless growth, it is time to pursue well-being for all people as part of a thriving world, with policymaking that is designed in the service of this goal. This results in a very different conception of progress: in the place of endless growth we seek a dynamic balance, one that aims to meet the essential needs of every person while protecting the life-supporting systems of our planetary home.
When we turn away from growth as the goal, we can focus directly on asking what it would take to deliver social and ecological well-being, through an economy that is regenerative and distributive by design. There are many possibilities – such as driving a low-carbon, zero-waste industrial transformation, with a green jobs guarantee, alongside free public transport, personal carbon allowances, and progressive wealth taxes.
Policies like these were, only a decade ago, considered too radical to be realistic. Today they look nothing less than essential.
