At a recent talk I was asked if wellbeing economics was a reinvention of socialism. I answered: “If it is, then it's equally a reinvention of…
When we talk about the transition to the wellbeing economics approach, many worry it will require a major upheaval – a significant restructuring of the economic system – but in reality it is a shift in the way we measure success, rather than in how we structure the economy and the mechanisms that underpin it.An economy for the people
Yet the opinions of the backbone of Scotland's economy are not really represented in the news anywhere near as often as the larger London-based, often tax-dodging, large corporations.The wellbeing economic approach is about creating an economy that works for all of Scotland, not just the self-labelled elite of business and finance. It's about environmentally sustainable growth while encouraging entrepreneurialism.
This is an issue because our current patterns of consumption and spending versus borrowing and investment in our own wellbeing is unsuitable for both the planet and society. The ideal consumer in a wellbeing economy simply does not consume to excess, and doesn't go into debt to purchase goods that project false self-image – but seeks goods that provide utility. They definitely consume less meat – red meat in particular – and buy clothing that lasts rather than just looks good according to this week's fashion.
Standard economic thinking states that people don’t take on more personal debt than they can afford, so they claim it doesn't impact on the economy. Well, people do, and it does impact on the economy. High levels of personal debt interest gifts an unnecessary and undeserved percentage of the economy to big finance and that takes away from the real economy – those SMEs forming the backbone of Scotland’s wealth as a nation.
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