Skip to content
Note: This needs to be updated, just copied straight from my newsletter / blog
Intro
Put intro here
Scratch pad:
What is a Wellbeing Economy?
An economy that serves people and planet, not the other way around.
Is based on metrics other than GDP alone.
Can be applied to businesses and orgs. Most powerful at the local level.
Common attributes: Sociocracy / Teal Org Principles / Princples of Coops, Community Wealth Building, etc. Connecting with others and self, WE>ME, etc.
Instead of being reliant
On the systems of a few billionaires, we build our own (Only 9% of people will do this)
Bernays — gets you to play the game, feeding into their power
But CWB rewires this wealth and power
And social enterprise (HelpBnk)
Skill building and problem solving we can build our own systems
Every vote for this over …
How can I get started?
Is there something like this near me?
What is a Wellbeing Economy?
A wellbeing economy prioritizes human and ecological flourishing rather than just financial growth. It represents a shift from "survival economies" that extract more than they give back to systems that regenerate resources and build community wealth.
Wellbeing Economy is an umbrella term for hundreds of different terms, frameworks, and movements, so whether you call it regenerative, circular, solidarity, or wellbeing economy, these approaches share common principles: community benefit, regenerative practices, and practical implementation.
Any economic system that prioritises metrics that result in better health and happiness for people and improvements to our environment rather than prioritising GDP or sole financial gain, is inherently a wellbeing economic system.
Community wealth is the how of wellbeing economics. Our favourite framework for this is , a fundamental and proven framework with practical steps. Other forms of community wealth are cooperatives and social enterprise, as well as ecovillages, mutual aid, and the sharing of resources within communities and regions.
Is a Wellbeing Economy a Care/Sharing/Circular/Gift/Regenerative/Etc Economy?
There are hundreds of movements I’ve loosely organized into eight categories:
Systems Innovators: Doughnut Economics, Just Transition, Participatory Budgeting, etc.
Economic Innovators: B Corps, Community Wealth Building, Platform Cooperativism, Social Enterprise, etc.
Technology Innovators: Open Source, Digital Commons, DAOs, etc.
Commons Cultivators: Community Land Trusts, Mutual Aid Networks, Timebanking, etc.
Ecological Cultivators: Permaculture, Regenerative Agriculture, Food Forests, etc.
Wellness Cultivators: Trauma-Informed Care, Community Healing Practices, etc.
Cultural Catalysts: Narrative Change, Solutions Journalism, Cultural Organizing, etc.
Strategic Resistance: Unionising, Divestment, Protest, Resistance Movements
How will they measure wellbeing?
Great question - and the good news is countries are already measuring this with real frameworks, not just theory.
What they're actually measuring: Scotland uses the National Performance Framework tracking 81 indicators including mental wellbeing, biodiversity, energy security, and community belonging alongside economic measures. New Zealand's Living Standards Framework measures four types of capital: financial, human (health/skills), social (relationships/institutions), and natural (environment). Iceland focuses on quality of life indicators including work-life balance, social connections, and environmental sustainability.
Common wellbeing indicators include:
But it's not just top-down government frameworks: Social enterprises and cooperatives - which form the bulk of the economic movement - are deciding on their own measures for what wellbeing means in their culture. A worker cooperative might measure job satisfaction and democratic participation. A community land trust might track housing stability and neighborhood cohesion. A platform cooperative might measure data sovereignty and worker ownership.
This grassroots approach allows for incredible flexibility and adaptation. Every wellbeing economy initiative can evolve their measures based on what matters most to their community and context.
The frameworks vary: Kate Raeworth's Doughnut Economics model measures whether we're operating within planetary boundaries while meeting everyone's basic needs. Some places use Gross National Happiness (Bhutan pioneered this) or Genuine Progress Indicators. Purpose-drive business models build principles and purpose into their founding documents.
It's evolving: No framework is perfect, and there are many approaches as people figure out how to measure what really matters. But as systems theory tells us, just changing the purpose of a system changes its behavior. So once governments and businesses start optimizing for wellbeing instead of just GDP, the measurement methods improve through practice.
The beautiful thing is we're not waiting for perfect metrics - we're implementing and refining as we go.
Can you provide examples of this system in practice historically or today and the outcomes?
Absolutely - there's substantial evidence these systems work, both historically and today, with measurable outcomes.
Historic success stories: Mondragon Corporation (Spain, 1956-present): Started as one cooperative, now 80,000+ worker-owners across 100+ cooperatives. Survived the 2008 financial crisis with zero layoffs while Spanish unemployment hit 25%. Annual revenue over €12 billion, proving worker ownership scales.
Credit unions during 2008 crisis: Had significantly lower failure rates than traditional banks. Members kept their savings while bank customers lost billions. Credit unions continued lending to communities when banks stopped.
Contemporary examples with measurable results: Preston Model (UK): Redirected £75 million in local spending through anchor institutions. Unemployment dropped from above national average to below. Local business creation increased 20%. Now being replicated across multiple UK cities.
Scotland's wellbeing framework (2007-present): Since implementation, shows improved mental health service access, reduced child poverty rates, and better environmental quality metrics compared to GDP-focused regions.
Cleveland Evergreen Cooperatives: Created 300+ living-wage jobs for residents, keeps $3+ million annually circulating locally instead of leaving the community. Worker-owners report higher job satisfaction and economic stability.
Platform cooperatives: Stocksy (photography) distributes 90% of revenue to photographer-owners vs traditional stock photo exploitation. Resonate (music streaming) gives artists higher royalty rates and users ownership stakes.
Resilience data across movements: Worker cooperatives show 3x survival rates compared to traditional businesses. Community land trusts maintain affordability for decades while surrounding areas gentrify. Community energy cooperatives provide stable local renewable energy. These models consistently outperform during economic crises because they prioritize resilience over extraction.
Define well-being. What are your thoughts there?
You've hit on exactly where things get interesting. The philosophical debates about defining wellbeing could go on forever, but what's actually happening is much more practical and creative.
Communities are solving this locally: Worker cooperatives often define wellbeing through democratic participation in decisions, fair profit-sharing, and reasonable work-life balance. Community land trusts measure it via housing stability and neighborhood affordability. Credit unions focus on member financial security and service quality. Each context gets to decide what matters most.
Some frameworks being used: Scotland's 81 indicators include mental health service access, biodiversity levels, and community belonging. New Zealand measures four types of capital: financial, human, social, and natural. Kate Raeworth's Doughnut Economics looks at operating within planetary boundaries while meeting basic needs. But there are hundreds of approaches.
Where to explore these frameworks:
Cultural variations make it richer: Indigenous communities might prioritize seven-generation thinking and land relationships. Urban communities focus on transit access and housing costs. Rural areas emphasize local business vitality and food security. Tech cooperatives measure data sovereignty and algorithm transparency.
Why the flexibility works: Instead of endless debates about the "correct" definition, communities experiment with what works and adjust based on results. A farming cooperative in Vermont needs different metrics than a platform cooperative in Berlin.
Common patterns emerge anyway: Despite the variation, themes appear: basic needs met, meaningful work with dignity, community connection, environmental health, and having voice in decisions that affect you.
The real fun is watching how creatively different communities solve this puzzle.
“This practice of broader, wholistic policy evaluation has been discussed for decades in a theoretical way, so it's wonderful to see it made real. Do you happen to know of any materials I can read or watch that dig into the specifics?”
Love that you want to dig into the specifics! There are some excellent resources now that this has moved from theory to practice.
Essential reading:
Online resources:
Videos and talks:
Academic papers: Search for "wellbeing impact assessment methodology" and "beyond GDP measurement" for the policy evaluation specifics.
The shift from decades of theory to actual government implementation documents is remarkable. You can now read the actual policy papers and see exactly how they're doing it.
This will never happen in the US.
This might be the biggest misconception about wellbeing economies. America doesn't need to catch up - it's already leading in many areas.
The numbers don't lie: America has over 65,000 cooperative businesses generating $3 trillion in revenue. Credit unions serve 130+ million Americans. Community land trusts operate in 250+ communities. The infrastructure is massive, it's just not labeled "wellbeing economy" in mainstream media. For the most part, it’s not even in mainstream media!
Recent momentum proves the speed: Commonwealth Grocers launched within months of a viral TikTok about community-owned grocery stores. Drivers Coop Colorado went from idea to operating business. Platform cooperatives are emerging to challenge Big Tech. Americans don't wait for permission - they build.
The entrepreneurial advantage: Americans excel at the "build it yourself" mentality that wellbeing economies require. While other countries might adopt these policies top-down, Americans create them bottom-up through pure innovation and necessity.
Regional success stories: Cleveland's Evergreen Cooperatives keep millions circulating locally. Burlington, Vermont pioneered community land trusts. Rural electric cooperatives serve conservative communities. This crosses all political and geographic lines.
Why it's accelerating: Americans love underdog stories, and community-owned alternatives beating mega-corps is exactly that narrative. When Drivers Coop members earn 80% instead of Uber's 50%, when credit unions offer better rates than banks, when worker cooperatives provide job security - people notice.
The question isn't whether this will happen in America. It's how fast Americans will scale what's already working everywhere.
Isn't this just Socialism/Communism?
It's neither socialism nor traditional capitalism - it's something different that combines the best of both while avoiding the problems of each.
The key differences: Traditional capitalism concentrates ownership with shareholders and prioritizes profit extraction. Socialism concentrates ownership with the state. Community wealth building distributes ownership among workers and communities who use democratic processes to balance profit with social benefit.
It's not state control: Worker cooperatives are owned by their members, not government. Community land trusts are controlled by neighbors, not bureaucrats. Credit unions serve their members, not state directives. This is democratic ownership, not centralized control.
It's not anti-profit: Cooperatives generate profits - they just share them with workers instead of distant shareholders. B Corps prove businesses can be profitable while serving multiple stakeholders. The goal is sustainable profit that builds community wealth, not profit extraction that depletes it.
Labels create political divisions that stop progress: Rural electric cooperatives serve conservative communities. Urban housing cooperatives serve progressive ones. Both use the same cooperative principles because they work. When we get bogged down in political labels, former allies become enemies over ideology instead of working together on practical solutions.
The strategic question: Would you rather be proven right about political categories or would you rather see a better world emerge? Because right now, people across the political spectrum are building these alternatives together. The moment we make it about socialism vs capitalism, we lose half the people and progress stops.
Community wealth building works regardless of your political label because better working conditions, affordable housing, and local economic control benefit everyone.
Have other questions?
This FAQ will keep growing as the conversation evolves. If you have questions about wellbeing economies that aren't covered here, drop them in the comments below and I'll add them to the next update.
Every question helps us explain this transformation better and reach more people who are ready to build the economy we actually want to live in. Thank you for your support.
Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.
This is not the way.
Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (
CtrlP
) instead.