MISSION STATEMENT.
I have been working in the media industry since 1989. It was a year of historic change, and, living in West-Germany at the time, I could experience first-hand, what "systemic change" actually means. Millions of people had to adapt, basically overnight, to dramatic societal change.
Then came 2008, and it was another eye-opening moment for many people, including for myself. I, too, believed the narrative and the promise of progress and perpetual economic growth that has yielded so many gains for so many people in the so-called free world.
But it dawned on me, that capitalism had its own logic and it was based on some premises that were actually unsustainable in the long run.
I noticed, that the debt-based financial system enabled a population growth that is challenging the planets´ carrying capacity. All these people, by now we are seven billion, are living at the mercy of a giant Ponzi scheme.
I couldn't believe the fact that the "solution" to the financial crisis was actually - more debt.
Today in 2020, 12 years after, we are seeing clearly that it had been the beginning of the end for the finance-led, growth-obsessed world we have grown accustomed to.
It turns out that the multiple crises are indeed interconnected.
The ongoing pandemic shows us drastically that our way of farming and producing food for seven billion people lead to the loss of natural habitat and to the mass extinction of biodiversity and millions of species. Climate change is showing its first forceful symptoms.
More and more, Humans turn out to become a mono-culture breed, pushing all other species to the brink of extinction, and as such we become very vulnerable to a sudden drought or a when a virus suddenly chooses us as a host. Interconnected as we are, a local, rather insignificant event then can unravel pretty quickly and cause a worldwide emergency.
Things cannot go on as usual. We have to accept the fact that nature does not need us - but we need her. If we continue to see ourselves as apart or even "above" nature, we will soon be History. We live in a transition phase. Between the death of the old and the birth of the new, many will choose to cling to the old, because they are so heavily invested in it. This is making them blind from the new reality. Aggressive denial is not the answer, but nonetheless, we can see it everywhere, and especially in the US, where the free-market narrative had proven to be so successful.
Grasping the gravity of this moment, and using it to build a prosperous, just and sustainable economy, is the central task for every individual with some sense of responsibility.
Designing for a new economy demands being clear on your principles. Here is my list:
The New World is based on circularity.
- Design contributes to (individual and planetary) Health - or it is worthless.
- Communication is key in the "Relation - Revolution": How do we relate to each other and the environment?
- Growth is just one aspect of a living organism. There is more to life than Growth: Maintenance. Health. Procreation, Re-generation. Inevitably, Death and Decay.
- Efficiency will be a necessity, but not because it will drive productivity. On the contrary, it will be critical for De-growth. Yes, both are necessary: Growth and De-growth and both have to managed- if not, both can be catastrophic.
- There is a law of the minimum but there is also a law of the "maximum", at least in the context of a finite environment.
- The world has become a very crowded place. Hence, "diminishing returns".
- Modesty is beauty. Be resourceful. Hold everything dear.
- Thinking comes before acting. (Thinking actually is acting. - inside the brain)
- Acting means taking responsibility.
- Design for resilience
- Design for re-generation
- Design for less inequality
- Design environments that support health
- Integrate when possible, disconnect when necessary. Manage connectivity.