Flourishing-Centered Economic Paradigm

Recoupling economies with flourishing of people and planet calls for a new framework of thought. In this paradigm, people are not viewed as merely “maximizing machines,” using resources efficiently to satisfy predetermined ends. Instead, people adapt to ever-changing challenges, most of which are collective.

Addressing their collective challenges requires collaboration and a willingness to cooperate beyond enlightened self-interest. Such collaboration is promoted through identities, norms, values and narratives, as well as economic, political and social institutions that coordinate human efforts.

Human wellbeing is a multilevel phenomenon, derived not just from individual benefits, but also from people’s participation in groups. Human flourishing – encompassing both wellbeing and the contexts in which it arises – is driven not only by material goods and services, but also social solidarity, agency and environmental connectedness.

People’s social, political and economic interactions create ongoing uncertainty. Consequently, resilience, robustness and adaptability become important relative to static efficiency.

This new economic paradigm – covering sociality, individual and group agency, economies embedded in polities and societies, uncertainty, and multilevel flourishing – provides a framework for designing policies, business practices and institutions that promote flourishing. Human flourishing, rather than just economic growth, should become the goal of policymaking and institution building.

Flourishing-focused policies aim to redirect the activities of the public- and private sectors toward social and environmental success, enabling people to fulfil their potential and the natural world to thrive.

• Developing a new paradigm linking human activities to human flourishing
• Deriving implications of this paradigm for public policy and business strategy
• Promoting this paradigm among G20 and G7 policymakers
• Developing narratives that bring divergent norms, ideologies and values into alignment in addressing shared problems, promoting distinctive pathways towards shared goals