This term in Economics, we are reading the book, Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth, which discusses the seven ways you can think like a 21st economist. In class, a partner and I read the chapter, "Getting Savvy with Systems", which described the difference between an adaptive system and a mechanical system, and how economists before the 21st century approached economics. It turned out that through history, economists were finding new and improved ways to study the economy's behavior and the market world. In this Action Project, I am finding the 8th way to think like a 21st economist. We visited Rehapply, a company that uses sustainability to circulate resources that other companies need. Their company inspired me to add on to Raworth's chapters, "Getting Savvy With Systems" and "Create to Regenerate" because I believe that reusing resources is the best way to be sustainable as an economy. Learning about adaptive systems really made me realize that economics is about the behavior and interactions we have with the environment and the people around us. I really liked that the world would basically be sharing materials to make the environment a better place.
Cycle Logo that represents my principle.
When people have trash, clothes, books, electronics, and more, sometimes they throw those items away. Trash can be thrown away, but if you have materials people can actually use, the economy would become a lot more sustainable. Although there are several sustainability projects around the world, waste is still our biggest issue. Every year, the US generates 230 million tons of “trash” and less than a quarter is being recycled while the rest is sent to be buried in landfills. A lot of that “trash” not only includes items that people around the world can reuse, but we pay for some of these resources to be sent away to landfills.
As a 21st economist, we must look at the world through complex systems, and push the economy towards a closed-loop and adaptive system by encouraging people to be more sustainable. I would be focusing on the nature of our economy, the behavior of different people, and the environment while following the law of nature, not the laws of physics. According to Raworth, many economists like William Stanley Jevons looked at economics as a science that resembled the science of statistical mechanics and physio-mathematical sciences. Economists focused on economics too similar to the way Newton studied the falling apple through his own laws of physics. This isn’t the best way to approach economics because when the world turns out to be unpredictable, looking at economics in terms of mechanical systems can leave us ill-equipped. Newton could have easily transformed the world of economics if he also looked at the falling apple through the nature of complex systems. This made economists talk about market mechanisms rather than market organisms. After all, these economists only explained the economy as a stable mechanical system because they believed it was the perfect system for statistics. An adaptive system is a cycle made up of interdependent humans living in a dynamic world. A mechanical system is linear and we can predict what each part will do in response.
Technology is one of the strongest sources of our economy and the fastest way people can get in touch with one another. Since the mechanical age, technology has improved tremendously. We can use technology as a resource that can help our economy if we create a technological system that allows people to not only throw out their trash, but people would be able to depreciate the things they no longer need like clothes, different products, and materials. Anything that is composted or biodegradable can be used to plant different foods, which can be given to homeless or starving people that don’t have access to food. This system can help everyone around the world communicate and share resources and our economy would become almost like an eco-cycle. People in need of food, clothes, and even simple things like glass, cardboard, a bed frame, an old television, a box of records, lab equipment, etc, can use those materials, and when they’re done they can pass it on. Instead of investing our money into getting rid of things, we need to invest what we have into systems that will help the economy flourish and fulfill the needs of everyone.
The system could look a little like Reheaply, a company that connects people by letting companies post the assets they don’t need. This allows companies to put their unused materials on the site so that other companies, schools, etc. can use them. It also saves people money because they don’t have to invest their time and money into resources that they already have in their building. Garr Punnett, a Sustainable Business Development Manager at Rheapply states that waste ending up in landfill is only causing, “economic barriers” because “our things can simply be recycled or reused.” Overall, Reheaply uses their software to communicate their vision to buyers that connect to the “future focus”, pushing companies towards the same mission, sustainability.
Other examples of businesses focusing on sustainability are two businesses in Chicago called, “Plant Chicago” and “Wasteshed”. Plant Chicago’s mission is to cultivate local circular economies by making a waste stream that gives to other resources they use in the factory, like plants, fish, different insects, beverages, food, etc. It all creates a closed-loop model of material reuse because everything in the factory is connected and receiving natural sources.
“The Wasteshed”, a sustainable art center in Chicago provides cheap repurposed art and crafts, school supplies, art supplies, and more. Their goal is to create art sustainably, and connect with others around Chicago who want to do the same! They also educate people on creative reuse through economical activities.
Raworth made a good point in Doughnut Economics when she said, “Industrial activity has broken these natural cycles apart, depleting nature’s sources and dumping too much waste in her sinks.” That quote motivates me to communicate my thoughts and ideas about sustainability in the world because we can save the world just by using products that we already have. I believe that people are either lazy or obsessed with how “new” and item can be over how natural it can be. Over time, things would become less expensive because we are reusing items and remaking things that came from our backyard or closet. Food would become fresher, and people could eat healthier if we didn’t throw everything out that could be valuable to our planet. As an economy, we don’t know how useful everything is, including the people around us. We need each other to save the world. Like Rawworth said, “Economics, it turns out, is not a matter of discovering laws: it is essentially a question of design.” So let’s start designing a system that won’t only save the world, and the several global warming and waste issues we have, but will save the daily interactions we have with the environment and different communities.
