Review coming soon (we said in 2020)!
(2025) Kate Raworth’s innovation of the ‘doughnut’ took development economics by storm apparently, and re-examines the basic purpose of an economics designed for humans and the ecosystems they are part of. I was surprised that one or two of our book group found the book rather inaccessible, but that could be to do with public understanding of economics, an area that has increasingly become the main lodestone of policy-makers, and yet is barely understood by the majority, if it is comprehensible at all. My experience of other economics books, even critical ones like ‘Debunking Economics’ by Steve Keen, is that they do not root their their theories in recognisable physical reality, instead postulating mysterious concepts of ‘value’ and ‘utility’.
Doughnut economics starts from something quite different, seeing economics as part of society, which is part of ecology. It tries to solve 21st century problems where human activity threatens ‘planetary boundaries’, specifically climate change and biodiversity, while working out how best to supply the nutritional and social needs of eight billion humans. It’s about economic teaching, but also quite practical, informing policy in Amsterdam among other places.
Raworth opens by describing the typical path of a student or anyone curious about economics, where you are told and tested about economic ideas without ever getting a chance to fundamentally question what they are for or what they mean. Personally, I think that’s rather like a religion: Raworth doesn’t go that far, but does document the historical origins of ideas like ‘economic growth’, so you can draw your own conclusions.
Highly recommended in any case.
Wanstead Climate Action 