What it's about

At the same time, the rapid rise in inequality is putting not only social cohesion but also universal human rights and trust in democratic processes to the test. Technological development, in turn, is increasingly described as an arms race instead of driving new solutions for a good life in the 21st century.

So today’s reality and its habits are neither normal nor particularly stable. We are facing a series of upheavals or tipping points. New forms of production and consumption will be established – by design or disaster.

The fact that much can be gained through better design of economic systems has always been the incentive behind global and European cooperation and is reflected in many political declarations, most recently in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals align well with the wishes of the population, as shown by large-scale surveys on the understanding of prosperity in the dialogue ‘Living well in Germany’ 2017, the ‘Global Commons Survey’ 2021 and the OECD’s ‘Better Life Index’.

In order to achieve these goals, we need a structural reorganisation of the economy towards renewable and circular processes, which is another fact that has been well researched and documented. It is the actual implementation of these changes, the necessary transformation of the political framework, that demands a great deal from democratic societies: not only do we have to let go of the thinking that has created today’s problems, but also of the structures that perpetuate these problems. A great adventure of constructive co-operation.