Democratising provisioning systems: a prerequisite for living well within limits

Julia Steinberger, Gauthier Guerin, Elena Hofferberth & Elke Pirgmaier

The core challenge of the 21st century, of achieving good living conditions for all, while bringing resource use and emissions down within planetary limits, is likely to be technically feasible. However, current political and economic trends perpetuate extractive practices and growth imperatives, where decisions that benefit vested interests at the expense of humanity and life on Earth are hidden behind capitalist market logics. To break this deadlock, we argue economic democratisation is necessary, bringing crucial economic decision-making into the sphere of democratic deliberation. We review existing proposals and argue that economic democracy requires more fundamental rethinking of social, political, and economic relations. We then explore these in three thematic areas: the deepeningof democracy, the importance of provisioning systems, and the provisioning logics within organisations. We conclude with a call to action for a revived coalition of environmental and social movements, focused on the crucial task of democratising the economy through its provisioning systems and organisations.

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