Wellbeing and a Post Growth Economy with Katherine Trebeck

It’s a largely unquestioned assumption that any and all economic growth is good. Many of the world’s developed countries, which already have a surplus of wealth and resources, continue to pursue economic growth as an end in itself. In Western culture our wellbeing has been left as an afterthought as we’ve been seduced by the promises of relentless growth, and could all this unchecked growth end up also hurting the citizens of less-developed nations, making escape from poverty impossible?

Wellbeing is becoming increasingly relevant in all aspects of society. Nations like New Zealand have admitted the need to address the societal wellbeing of their nation - by assigning a new 'well-being budget'- and not just the economic wellbeing or GDP.

It’s been 51 years since Robert Kennedy made a famous speech spelling out the inadequacy of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of societal progress, saying that, “it measures everything, in short, apart from that which makes life worthwhile”.

The current economic system has become addicted to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at all costs and has lost sight of the larger goal of sustainable wellbeing. It needs to be fundamentally transformed into a wellbeing economy which is aimed at achieving dignity and fairness, for humans and the rest of nature.

First and foremost, a wellbeing economy is designed to serve people and communities in order to drive human and ecological wellbeing. Building this new economy is not a case of starting from scratch: the evidence for change exists, many of the ideas needed are already available and a range of existing projects are thriving, we need only look to Bhutan and their measure of Gross Domestic Happiness.

In The Economics of Arrival, Katherine Trebeck and Jeremy Williams put forth a provocative idea: moving away from economic expansion toward economic inclusion. Using global examples, they argue for an economy that delivers quality rather than quantity—an economy for everyone.

We are delighted to bring you an evening of provocative and transforming conversation with author Katherine Trebeck in a fireside chat with Melanie Greblo, Founder of Talking Sticks.

Join us as we ask ourselves some beautiful questions around wellbeing – if it is our new wealth, how do we change our mindset from economic success to wellbeing success? Are the two mutually exclusive? What makes us happy today? How do we measure it? And in the business realm, how do we align our wellbeing strategies with our greater purpose and ‘why’?