Doughnut economics has girdled the world. Five years on, founder Kate Raworth shares seven key lessons
We’ve cheer-led the work of Doughnut Economics on this site since 2017 - the same year that Kate Raworth’s book of the same name came out. DEAL - the Doughnut Economics Action Lab - has been busy going round the world, offering this metaphor (the outer limits of planetary boundaries, the inner limits of social sustainability, and the liveable gap between them) for use with many different communities. (Above is the original YouTube playlist with short animations on each precept of the book).
Five years on, Kate has produced an afterword to the new edition of Doughnut Economics - and has released it into the digital commons for all to read (talk being walked there!). In that spirit, we reproduce one section from that new chapter (news on it here, and the full version here - PDF), where Kate reflects on the key lessons - life and strategic - she’s learned since 2017. Useful for many of us, we think:
Go where the energy is
As the mother of young twins, my time was tight when this book first came out and that forced me to start following a beautifully simple principle. Don’t waste time knocking on shut doors; work with people who want to act, because there are plenty of them.
Following this principle, DEAL has never lobbied or tried to persuade anyone to engage with the ideas of Doughnut Economics – we respond to changemakers who, knowing their own doughnut economics context, believe these ideas will be of use in bringing about the transformations they are seeking.
And while going where the energy is, we always ask: whose voice is not yet being heard, and how can they become part of the conversation?
Embrace the power of play
The ‘Doughnut’ is an intentionally playful name, sending a signal that everyone is invited to get involved in this work. That matters because many people are afraid of economics; say the word and they pull back, stiffen up or switch off. But no one is afraid of doughnuts. It turns out that the mere mention of doughnuts invites people to bring along their humour, mischief and fun, even when addressing some of the world’s most intractable challenges.
So far, people have been inspired to design doughnut cartoons, street art and board games, perform doughnut dances and songs, and – crucially – get primary school pupils excited about imagining doughnut-shaped futures. Who knows what’s playfully coming next?
Unleash peer-to-peer inspiration
The most inspiring person is often not the one talking on a stage, in a book, or on TV. It might actually be someone just like yourself who is already doing some- thing you thought was impossible, or hadn’t yet imagined. A teacher inspires a fellow teacher; a mayor inspires a mayor.
When the City of Amsterdam put the Doughnut at the heart of its policy to create a circular economy in the city – and launched this commitment at the height of the covid crisis – it quickly triggered governmental interest and action from Copenhagen, Brussels and Barcelona to Curaçao, Barbados and beyond.
Photo by Lore Schodts on Unsplash
Connect across cultures
The ideas at the heart of Doughnut Economics call for a radically new starting point for the twenty- first-century economic mindset, but in many cultures these ideas are, of course, by no means new. Regenerative and distributive practices, rooted in humanity’s interconnectedness with all living beings, are foundational to the worldview of many indigenous cultures.
It has been an honour to be invited to discuss Doughnut Economics with Ma ̄ori community leaders, Sami parliamentarians, Indigenous Australian educationalists, Bhutanese officials and Hawaiian schol- ars, all of whom have welcomed an exploration of the commonalities between their own rich cultural heritage and this emergent economic thinking.
Such cultural generosity creates a much-needed opportunity to bridge worldviews and foster deeper intercultural understanding and connections.
Focus on organisational design
When we started working with organisations – from businesses to local governments – that wanted to put Doughnut Economics into practice, it quickly became clear that, more than the design of specific products or services, what matters most is the deep design of the organisation itself.
Five design traits raise key questions. What is the organisation’s purpose? How is it networked with others? How is it governed in practice? Crucially, how is it owned? And how is it financed?
These questions – inspired by the next-generation enterprise designer Marjorie Kelly – are now an essential area of exploration for any enterprise or institution wanting to engage with Doughnut Economics.
It’s clear that the enterprise designs and organisational forms needed to create regenerative and distributive economies are still being invented – an intriguing opportunity for anyone interested in the deep design work of organisational transformation.
Welcome innovation with integrity
Ideas need to be adaptable so that they can keep evolving. At the same time, they need to be protected from being co-opted or greenwashed. So DEAL invites people who share our transformative ambition to adapt the core ideas of Doughnut Economics with integrity: make the concepts speak to your own culture, context and imagination, while respecting their essence.
If the name ‘doughnut’ doesn’t work for you, change the name to your culture’s favourite ring-shaped food, be it a rosquilla, simit or jalebi. But don’t lose the essentials: a social foundation for all people; an ecological ceiling for our planetary home; a thriving space between the two.
And when putting the ideas into practice, follow DEAL’s guidelines based on the seven ways to think like a twenty-first-century economist.
Don’t try to be the movement – join the movement
There are many compelling approaches to new economic thinking gaining momentum worldwide, and that’s important because transforming the economy calls for teamwork on a global scale. No single idea or initiative can do it alone. It’s going to take a whole ecosystem of ideas, organisations, experiments and social movements to bring new economic thinking into practice, so it’s key to create concepts that connect with others, and respect others, in order to succeed in building the irresistible momentum needed for systemic change.