Buzzword or breakthrough beyond growth? The mainstreaming of the Wellbeing Economy

IF 6.6 2区 经济学 Q1 ECOLOGY
Anders Hayden
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Abstract

A wellbeing economy (WE) has been promoted by many advocates of a post-growth economy. Drawing on the growing WE literature, including detailed case studies of Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo), the article asks: does growing support for a WE represent a breakthrough for post-growth economic ideas? Or has mainstreaming the WE concept emptied it of radical post-growth content? The WE experience is interpreted in light of an earlier debate in the international development community over the mainstreaming of radical concepts that were purged of transformative meanings – becoming buzzwords that did not fundamentally alter existing practices. Wellbeing and the WE similarly risk becoming buzzwords: feel-good ideas that are hard to oppose, but which users can fill with their own meanings and political agendas. The WE's post-growth roots are contrasted with the pro-growth meanings given to it by organizations including the OECD and WEGo nations. The WE has nevertheless shown some promise in enabling limited steps in a post-growth direction in WEGo nations (within a broader context of continued pursuit of growth). The article presents – and invites debate on – some possible responses to resist dilution of the WE concept and advance a transformative post-growth vision.

热词还是超越增长的突破?福祉经济的主流化
许多后增长经济的倡导者都在提倡福利经济(WE)。这篇文章借鉴了越来越多的福祉经济文献,包括对福祉经济政府(WEGo)的详细案例研究,提出了以下问题:对福祉经济日益增长的支持是否代表了后增长经济理念的突破?或者说,"幸福经济 "概念的主流化是否使其失去了激进的后增长内容?文章从国际发展界早先关于激进概念主流化的争论出发,对 WE 的经验进行了解读,这些激进概念被剔除了变革的含义--成为了没有从根本上改变现有实践的流行语。福祉和 WE 同样面临着成为流行语的风险:感觉良好的理念很难遭到反对,但使用者可以在其中填充自己的意义和政治议程。WE 的后增长根源与经合组织(OECD)和 WEGo 国家等组织赋予它的促增长含义形成了鲜明对比。尽管如此,世界教育大会在促使世界经济组 织国家(在继续追求增长的大背景下)朝着后增长方向迈出有限的几步方面还是显示出了一 些希望。这篇文章介绍了一些可能的应对措施,以抵制对 "我们的世界 "概念的淡化,推进变革性的后增长愿景,并请大家就此展开讨论。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Ecological Economics
Ecological Economics 环境科学-环境科学
CiteScore
12.00
自引率
5.70%
发文量
313
审稿时长
6 months
期刊介绍: Ecological Economics is concerned with extending and integrating the understanding of the interfaces and interplay between "nature''s household" (ecosystems) and "humanity''s household" (the economy). Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field defined by a set of concrete problems or challenges related to governing economic activity in a way that promotes human well-being, sustainability, and justice. The journal thus emphasizes critical work that draws on and integrates elements of ecological science, economics, and the analysis of values, behaviors, cultural practices, institutional structures, and societal dynamics. The journal is transdisciplinary in spirit and methodologically open, drawing on the insights offered by a variety of intellectual traditions, and appealing to a diverse readership. Specific research areas covered include: valuation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture and development, ecologically integrated technology, integrated ecologic-economic modelling at scales from local to regional to global, implications of thermodynamics for economics and ecology, renewable resource management and conservation, critical assessments of the basic assumptions underlying current economic and ecological paradigms and the implications of alternative assumptions, economic and ecological consequences of genetically engineered organisms, and gene pool inventory and management, alternative principles for valuing natural wealth, integrating natural resources and environmental services into national income and wealth accounts, methods of implementing efficient environmental policies, case studies of economic-ecologic conflict or harmony, etc. New issues in this area are rapidly emerging and will find a ready forum in Ecological Economics.
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