杏MAP导航

By Vatican News staff writer

The goal, begins Kate Raworth is that 鈥渘o person should be left falling short on the essentials of life鈥�. Her 鈥渄oughnut theory鈥� specifically has at the centre those who are left in a state of deprivation; and asks, as 杏MAP导航 Francis does, that we attend to the poorest and most marginalized among us.

All this, says Raworth, must be done collectively. 鈥淚t calls on all of us鈥� to make sure that the economies and institutions that we create ensure that we live within the pressures of the planet. Raworth recalls that we humans are actually only 鈥渙ne of many living creatures within this planetary home鈥�, and we must learn to see ourselves as a part of a much bigger living whole, as 鈥減art of the web of life鈥�.

The economy of Francesco

Kate Raworth recently took part in The Economy of Francesco, speaking to young upcoming economists online 鈥� an experience she describes as 鈥渨onderful鈥�.

Raworth was trained as an economist in the 1990s and describes the 鈥渟hift in generations鈥� between her times and the present. The young economists of today have already lived through so many different crises that have occurred in the 21st century. These crises, she explains, range from 鈥渢he financial meltdown to the climate breakdown鈥�. She says young economists are responding to these recurring crises by recognising that 鈥渟o many prices and numbers are emerging from the very systems that we actually created鈥�. This, she says, is why we need to transform and assist our young economists of today.

In The Economy of Francesco, the young people were able to 鈥渟peak across the barriers of language and across the barriers of difference and different cultures finding collective thinking鈥�.

The messages and their implementation

Based on her session with the young economists, Kate Raworth says she learned that one of the messages that must be implemented as soon as possible is that 鈥渁ll countries should be thought of as developing countries鈥�. There is no single country in the world that can be described as developed, she explains: 鈥淓very nation needs to transform and redevelop national prosperity鈥�, and leaders learn to be humble.

鈥淲e need to come up with a new model鈥�, she says. She noted that today鈥檚 young economists are placing the value of the life of humanity, of society, and of respecting the living world at the heart of thinking; and then deriving policies and interventions that are compatible with a completely different form.

鈥淚 think the discussions that came out of the Economy of Francesco are bringing us 鈥榓n economy that is rerouted in human and ecological value鈥�: the right place to start in the 21st century鈥�, she says.

Courage and imagintion

Sometimes what we are lacking is imagination, says Raworth. 鈥淓ven just the imagination to believe that 鈥榦nce I commit to that and I take that step, it will be a relief鈥欌��.

鈥淐hanges are hardest just before we make them, but once you have committed to it, it all becomes so much easier鈥�, she adds, saying 鈥渟hift from daring to leading鈥�.

And that is what 杏MAP导航 Francis is promoting, in Laudato sí, in The Economy of Francesco and throughout his pontificate: he is indicating the importance of the humanistic values that have 鈥渃learly resonated with young people worldwide and have clearly connected that bigger vision to so many people鈥�. It is great, she adds, to have someone in his position proposing such a poetic vision so ambitiously.

A life dedicated to fighting injustices

Kate Raworth says what inspired her to dedicate her life and thoughts to the progressive movement towards justice and equality came partly through her studies of economics in developing countries.

鈥淚 was posted in Zanzibar, and basically spent three years going around the villages of the islands, meeting villagers who were barefoot entrepreneurs鈥� forced to survive on literally nothing but their community, the forests, and their wits鈥�. There, she says, 鈥淚 met such amazing entrepreneurs and realised that entrepreneurship and business, 鈥渟omething that highly qualified graduates get to do is something that the world's poorest people do everyday through force of circumstance鈥�.

鈥淲e need to talk about power鈥�, says Raworth. 鈥淲e need to talk about rebalancing the relationship between economics and power: there鈥檚 no power in economics. Why do some people have nothing?鈥� she asks.

鈥淲e can't reinvent the laws of nature. We can't reinvent the climate, create stability or instability鈥�, Raworth says. That is part of the living world. 鈥淲e can however reinvent and redesign human institutions鈥� which today clearly don't work. However, they can be made to work, she stresses. Being an economist is a design challenge for putting human integrity and ecological integrity at the heart of our thinking. And one way of accomplishing this, she explains, is through 鈥渞egenerative design鈥�.

Regenerative design

鈥淎s humans, we must learn to move from degenerative to regenerative鈥�, says Raworth: 鈥淎way from the linear industrial systems that run down the living planet endlessly from mines and forests to the ocean. One of the most beautiful things we can do now is to regenerate living systems as well as economics鈥�.

This could be applied to everything, says Raworth. She uses architecture as an example: 鈥淟et's build an apartment block that provides cleaner air to the people in the building and then when it puts it back out in the city it is cleaner than it came in - so this building is actually acting as an air filter for the whole city giving clean air back to the city鈥�.

It鈥檚 a cycle

鈥淐ycle is the key word, Raworth says. 鈥淭o understand life we have to understand cycles, there's a carbon cycle. There's our own personal cycle of life and death.. we are embedded in cycles. We must realise that we are leaving a legacy for generations we will never meet but whose lives will be shaped by what we do or don't do now鈥�.

鈥淲e need to be 100-percent circular economy, only using and reusing materials again. We just need to start changing鈥�, Raworth concludes. 鈥淲e need to build differently; we need to build buildings that are reusing old material. We need to do a stocktake of all the food that's coming in and being consumed in and circulating to a city food waste鈥�. Change, she insists, can and should happen.