Reclaim the Economy Week 2026
It is Reclaim the Economy Week (26th January – 1st February 2026) and events are being held around the world to raise awareness and spark creative ideas about how to ensure that our economy serves us better. As the 21st century unfolds, we are facing unprecedented challenges like climate change, wealth inequality, and the impact of advanced technologies on work. Reclaim the Economy encourages the exploration of emerging models of sustainable economic development that seek to respond to perceived limitations in the current economic system and propose solutions to today’s complex challenges.
To that end, a webinar was held on the 27th of January 2026 to introduce key concepts in new economic thinking like the Wellbeing Economy, Doughnut Economics, Post-Growth, and the Care Economy. Organised by Feasta (Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability) and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, the webinar opened with reflections on the current state our economic system from Mark Garavan of Feasta. He emphasised the “carelessness” embedded in our economy, from the disposability of single-use products that saturate our waste streams to the loss of human life in wars waged for resources. Our economic system has fostered “atomised individualism”, a state in which people are presumed to ruthlessly pursue their individual self-interest. We know, however, that humans are communal animals and that cooperation and care are key to our success as individuals, as communities, and as a species. This is where new economic ideas can fill in the picture, not only to more accurately reflect the reality of our human condition, but to better address our needs. Organised by Cultivate, Feasta (Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability) and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, the webinar opened with reflections on the current state of our economic system from Mark Garavan of Feasta. Cultivate’s website is https://cultivate.ie
Garavan spoke of “care-full” economies as an alternative, in which the value of care is recognised and the health and wellbeing of people and planet are prioritised. The webinar featured a discussion of Doughnut Economics, a framework for thinking about economic development that respects both social and planetary boundaries. The main goal of an economy based on this model is to maintain a sustainable equilibrium that rests on a strong social foundation and respects the limits of the planet’s finite resources. The Wellbeing Economy was also discussed, a model focused on designing economic rules and incentives to ensure that everyone has enough to live in comfort, safety, and dignity. The Wellbeing Economy moves the focus from economic growth (GDP growth) to people-centred wellbeing (health, environmental regeneration, participation, fairness, purpose).
A lot of these new schools of thought on economic development are moving away from GDP-growth as the ultimate measure of a strong economy. The GDP-centric nature of our current economic system leaves out a lot of what is important to us as a society. Vanessa Conroy of the National Women’s Council presented a stark example during the webinar; women in Ireland collectively do 38 million hours of unpaid care work weekly, adding at least €24billion of value, or 12.3% of the total Irish economy. This shows the valuable contribution of this work to the economy but, despite that, it is largely invisible in the accounting of our current economic system.
Post-Growth, sometimes referred to as Degrowth, has been criticised for being anti-economic development, but this is a fundamental mischaracterisation of the concept. As Roisin Markham of the Irish Doughnut Economics Network outlined during the webinar, it’s not about being “anti-growth” but rather about not pursuing a narrow definition of economic growth at all costs – that other considerations for our flourishing as individuals and communities must be taken into account. It is the difference between “more” and “better.” The term degrowth comes from the French word décroissance, which means reduction or diminution. It is derived from the analogy of a river returning to its natural flow after a disastrous flood in which the water exceeds its bounds. Like other new economic models, Degrowth emphasises the need for our economy to roll back the damaging impact of over-consumption, to stay safely within our ecological limits.
In its 2023 Climate Change Assessment Synthesis Report, the EPA found that “fairer and more equal societies are more resilient to impacts (of climate change) and are more likely to adopt progressive transformative policies. Prioritisation of wellbeing and equity in development and climate policy could bolster the democratic social contract in support of transformation, including improved quality of life, decent work and the value of care.”
The novel challenges we face in the 21st century will force transformation on us, one way or another. New approaches to economic policy are a key part of taking control of that transformation. With the right policies in place, we are better positioned to ensure a just transition for long-term human wellbeing. Business-as-usual risks exposing us to a future in which we are unprepared to deal with existential threats. This webinar was held as part of Feasta’s ongoing initiative to enhance economic literacy. This initiative encourages us to ask difficult questions about things we have taken for granted, assumptions we have accepted for decades. Have our policies for economic development been oriented towards the right goals? Does economic success require environmental harm? How can we have infinite economic growth on a planet with finite resources? New models of sustainable economic development frame answers to these questions with ambitious, creative, and transformative new thinking.
