You must read this while listening to the O’Jays “Give the People What They Want.” If you don’t, it doesn’t count. I will also accept “Give the People What They Want” by the Kinks.
What would it look like if we followed a degrowth path and got a well-being economy where we live within planetary boundaries?
It turns out that most people on Earth want to know the answer to this question.
A well-being economy is one in which society focuses first and foremost on the well-being of people in a society. The metrics we would use to reflect whether we are succeeding as a well-being society are very different than the ones we use now.
Now, most countries measure their success by GDP growth, though that isn’t a useful metric to measure the well-being of society and leads to overproduction and overconsumption that has led us to the environmental overshoot crisis we are in.
You gotta to give the people what they want.
In 2024, Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance commissioned Ipsos UK to survey global attitudes on both the economy to the state of nature. The results are divided into two reports: the Global Commons Survey, addressing planetary stewardship, and the Earth for All Survey, focusing on economic systems change.
The survey polled 22,000 people around the world (1,000 in each country) including 18 G20 countries and four emerging economies.
As you can see from the graphic below borrowed from the report, there is overwhelming support for a well-being economy around the world, with only those in Japan failing to reach the 50 percent threshold of “strongly agree”, when asked:
“The way my country’s economy works should prioritize the health and well-being of people and nature rather than focusing solely on profit and increasing wealth in my country.”
There was great support for well-being economies among those surveyed in the G20, with about 68% of those surveyed in the G20 agreeing that the way the economy works should prioritize the health and wellbeing of people and nature rather than focusing solely on profit and increasing wealth (8% disagreed). Sixty-two percent agreed that the economic success of a country should be measured by the health and well-being of its citizens, not how fast the economy is growing (11% disagreed)
The report goes further into the details behind a well-being economy and finds that among those surveyed in the G20, support is highest for affordable healthcare, policies that support workers’ work-life balance, and investment in renewable energy.
The government ensuring that every citizen has free or affordable healthcare receives great support (75% supported, 8% opposed).
Strengthening workers’ rights, protecting jobs, and ensuring adequate retraining also received strong support (75% supported, 6% opposed),
Investing in renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transport (cars, buses, trains, aircraft), and reducing pollution in industry came in just below, but still overwhelming support (74% supported, 6% opposed).
Policies supporting work-life balance, such as parental leave, better childcare provision, and flexible working hours are also highly popular (72% supported, 6% opposed).
A healthy majority of people surveyed in each nation supported a tax on wealthy people to fund changes in our economies and lifestyles.
There is support for progressive taxation to fund major changes to the economy and lifestyles among those surveyed in the G20. The support is highest for a polluter-pays tax. Seventy-one of those surveyed in the G20 support higher taxes for people and companies that pollute the environment. Seventy percent supported wealthy people paying higher rates of income tax (10% opposed).
It is interesting to see that support for taxation is relatively consistent across countries.
Not surprisingly, the majority of people in each nation supported immediate and major action to reduce carbon emissions.
You don’t give the people what they want … at your own peril.
So if a well-being economy, more progressive taxation, and immediate action on climate change are overwhelmingly desired by the people, why aren’t governments giving the people what they want?
I asked my readers in our chat yesterday why we can’t have these nice things and they got right to the point, so I’ll give them credit:
Because money. - Jonathan Harris
Because it’s not profitable. - Obsolete Optics
Because it’s hard. – Zach Keeshin
They aren’t wrong.
The reason we don’t already have a well-being economy or are even on our way to one is that there is no money in it, and it would compromise the power of those with a lot of power.
People know this is happening.
Only a minority of those surveyed in the G20 trust the government to act in the best interests of citizens in the short or long term. Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed in the G20 agreed their country’s government can be trusted to make decisions for the benefit of the majority of people (40% disagreed). Thirty-seven percent agreed their country’s government can be trusted to make long-term decisions that will benefit the majority of people 20 or 30 years from now (40% disagreed).
People around the world want their governments to give the people more power. There is support for reform of national and global political and economic systems among those surveyed in the G20, with slightly more support for reform at the national level.
Sixty-five percent of those surveyed in the G20 said that the political system of their country needs to be completely reformed or needs major changes (7% said it doesn’t need to be changed).
Sixty-seven percent said the same about the economic system of their country (5% said it doesn’t need to be changed).
This disconnect between what people want and what they are giving will only put more pressure on governments as things get visibly worse – which they do every day. Governments will eventually endorse going down the well-being route, but only after the pressure from the people outweighs the pressure from the powerful interests that subsidize business as usual.
That will happen, but not yet – because most of the public isn’t there yet.
We aren’t on the degrowth path … yet.
The survey also shows that the belief in economic growth as the driver of wellbeing remains high among those surveyed in the G20. Sixty percent of those surveyed agreed that focusing on economic growth is the best way to achieve wealth and well-being for all (12% disagreed). This is because the link between the economic system and environmental damage is not firmly established, with only 44 percent agreeing that the economic system is bad for the environment (20% disagreed).
That means we have more educating to do.
But I am optimistic about that, as a majority of people surveyed in the G20 support giving legal rights to nature and future generations. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed in the G20 supported giving legal rights to future generations in national laws (7% opposed). Sixty percent support giving legal rights to nature in national laws (10% opposed).
So share this article and this survey. And talk to people about the well-being economy we all want, but cannot currently have. When a majority of people understand that our current economic system keeps us from getting the world we want … that is when we will see change.
yes, important and interesting stats. But please dont confuse a wellbeing economy with a degrowth economy. The Wellbeing concept is much fuzzier than the degrowth one, and includes a lot of aspects that are frankly unsustainable. Take healthcare for example. In a Wellbeing economy, everyone would have access to all the medical treatments currently available. This is not sustainable for a population of 8 billion, none the less 10 billion. Degrowth focuses on basic health care that minimizes high tech. Same goes for things like transport. Wellbeing notions include EVs and other non-fossil fuel options. Degrowth is about reducing the need for transport and doing almost all of it by active transport means. Look carefully at the differences. Wellbeing notions are a step in the right direction - but they dont get us where we should have been yesterday.
I think you're focusing on the wrong end of the problem.
The sheeple will consume whatever they're fed. You seem to be saying, "Feed them differently. That's what they *really* want."
And yet, no one has a gun to their head, forcing them to buy cheap plastic crap from far away, and buying unhealthy, highly-processed food from the centre aisles, when healthy food is in the same store.
What is needed — and the sheeple will resist this mightily, voting-in autocratic populists when it happens — is reduced income for everyone.
I have reduced my income by over 90% in the past 20 years. I'm eating more healthy, and getting more exercise as a result. But that's a hard sell!
What *really* needs to happen is a culture of frugality, of making the most of what you've got, rather than constantly seeking MORE! It happened during the Great Depression. It will happen again. But unfortunately, not voluntalily; it will happen following the coming crash that will cause the Great Depression to look like a picnic in comparison.