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Kate Raworth: “The Superorganism V. The Doughnut”

June 28, 2023

Show Summary

On this episode, Nate is joined by the creator of Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth, to discuss alternative economies that measure more than just the material wealth created by a society. As we expand further past planetary boundaries, the gap between the standard of living of the materially wealthiest and poorest continues to grow. Increasingly, these shortfalls in both ecological and social well-being of the current economic system are becoming more recognized by the general populace. Can we create systems that keep people from falling down the cracks, while also respecting the limits of our planetary home? Are there governments and businesses already aligning themselves to these principles and shifting to a different way of leading? Could moving towards a holistic system, such as Doughnut Economics, be enough to overcome the energy hungry growth of a global Superorganism?

About Kate Raworth

Kate Raworth describes herself as a renegade economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, based on her best-selling book Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist. Kate is a Senior Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She is a member of the Club of Rome and currently serves on the World Health Organisation Council on the Economics of Health for All.

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Show Notes & Links to Learn More:

00:10 – Kate Raworth works, info, Doughnut Economics Action Lab

03:55 – Planetary Boundaries

04:02 – Herman Daly + TGS Episode 

04:20 – Donella Meadows, Thinking in Systems: A Primer

07:35 – Keynes 

11:25 – Supply and Demand graph

12:50 – Homo economicus

13:39 – We are the most social of all mammals

15:59 – Nothing grows forever

23:37 – Milton Friedman

25:21 – Amsterdam’s Circular Initiatives

27:20 – Grenoble, France

28:35 – Private Sufficiency, Public Luxury – George Monbiot

33:40 – The role of policy in changing incentives

34:26 – Margorie KellyRegenerative Ownership

40:45 – Dennis Meadows + TGS Episode

41:05 – Long Term Stock Exchange

44:02 – Care Economy

44:53 – Capitalist-Socialist False Dichotomy

46:44 – Elinor Ostrom

47:07 – Tragedy of the Commons and Overcoming it

48:45 – Reagan and Thatcher policies rolling back the state’s role in the economy

58:14 – Surplus and Inequality

1:02:01 – Low Income, Middle Income, High Income Nations

1:04:21 – DEAL report on countries performance based on the Doughnut Economy

1:05:31 – Norway success in scaling EVs, but non-impact on oil consumption

1:05:50 – Norway Oil production

1:10:01 – G20

1:12:29 – Beyond Growth

1:12:45 – Ursula von der Leyen

1:13:56 – Kate’s presentations at Beyond Growth

1:14:53 – Thomas Arnold (Doughnut4EU)

1:17:23 – Bhutan, Gross National Happiness

1:18:41 – International Doughnut Day – November 13th

1:21:18 – Degrowth, post-growth

1:26:26 – Advance Policy

1:35:25 – Janine Benyus

1:39:27 – Humans are an interdependent part of the economic web

1:42:03 – Reality Roundtable

Nate Hagens

Nate Hagens

Nate Hagens is the Director of The Institute for the Study of Energy & Our Future (ISEOF) an organization focused on educating and preparing society for the coming cultural transition. Allied with leading ecologists, energy experts, politicians and systems thinkers ISEOF assembles road-maps and off-ramps for how human societies can adapt to lower throughput lifestyles.

Nate holds a Masters Degree in Finance with Honors from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. He teaches an Honors course, Reality 101, at the University of Minnesota.


Tags: building resilient economies, doughnut economics, limits to growth, planetary boundaries