Beyond Ideology

The Feminine Heartbeat of a New Economy 🌱

We are so often and so deeply engrossed in debates about "system change"—pro or contra capitalism, socialism, and everything in between. Entire existences seem to revolve around these polemical axes. Yet, while we exhaust ourselves in these often futile trench warfare, we overlook how trapped we are by the elemental values that drive our entire economic system. And in doing so, we particularly overlook the fundamental elements that play a significant role in the quality of life for all – including our non-human entities. I confess, I too constantly find myself losing sight of the bigger picture while getting bogged down in the minutiae of these debates.

This is by no means insignificant, as our fundamental dependence on nature's "umbilical cord" should never be underestimated. It is our primary lifeline, which we sever with astonishing indifference: Without air, we can only exist for minutes (on average 3-5 minutes), without water for only a few days (3-7 days), and without food, at most a few weeks (30-40 days, highly dependent on the individual and circumstances). These simple biological facts highlight our deepest vulnerability and ultimate interconnectedness.

Our stubborn insistence on short-term gain and the massive societal and ecological entropy resulting from it are simply untenable. The relentless logic dictates: "growth at all costs." Let us not forget that – be it capitalist or communist – at the end of the day, consumption is the engine that makes both those worlds go round.

A Simple Leverage Point: The Values of a Feminine Economy 👩‍🔬

But what if the true revolution lies not in swapping one "ism" flag for another, but in the radical change of the underlying values? I propose something that sounds simple, but can be a true leverage point – one that can fundamentally change the trajectory of our lives and those that will follow us. I propose we adopt without delay the values that would be found within a female economy.

These values include:

• Revaluing and Centering Care Work: Recognizing and prioritizing the invisible labor that keeps societies and ecosystems functioning – from childcare to elder care, from maintaining communities to regenerating nature.

• Policy Prioritization of Essentials: Focusing on universal care, essential infrastructure, and collective goods, rather than on profit-maximizing, often fragmenting projects.

• Shared Responsibility: A shift from the notion that responsibility lies with individuals or specific sectors, towards a collective awareness of the impact of our actions.

• Shifting Focus from Growth to Well-being and Sustainability: Moving away from the obsession with purely quantitative growth (GDP) to qualitative metrics that center the well-being of humans and nature.

• Promoting Collaboration and Reciprocity over Competition: A rethinking from an antagonistic, winner-take-all mentality to a model that emphasizes exchange, cooperation, and mutual benefit.

• Holistic View of Economic Life: Recognizing that the economy does not exist detached from social, cultural, and ecological spheres, but is deeply embedded within them.

• Redefining Work and Value: Going beyond the monetary to recognize intangible contributions, creativity, care, and regeneration as central value drivers.

  

The Opportune Moment: AI and the Future of Our Work 🤖

I would argue that the timing for such a shift is exceptionally opportune. With the overall rollout of Artificial Intelligence, our current employment structures will finally be exposed for what they are: obsolete. If automation takes over repetitive and cognitively routine tasks, human value will no longer lie in "turning screws" but precisely in those areas that a female economy highlights: creativity, care, relationship building, strategic thinking for the common good – precisely the human qualities we currently undervalue in our system.

Does this mean there is nothing more that needs to be done within society? Not at all! Countless things have always needed to be done, but we have never set them as a priority. The care for the elderly, the restoration of ecosystems, the building of communities, mental health care, artistic development – all are areas of invaluable worth that often fall short in the "profit" paradigm.

What, then, is stopping us from this long-overdue transition? Could it be that we secretly fear we might get it right? That we might become more the masters of our own destiny than we care to admit? The prospect of truly becoming "masters of our own destiny" might, in our deeply ingrained passivity – or perhaps even comfort – instill more fear than we are willing to acknowledge. It is time to outgrow ourselves.