Regenerative Capitalism:! Building an Economic Engine for Ecological Civiliza4on Dr. Sally Goerner! Capital Institute! http://capitalinstitute.org/! The Paradox of Economic “Growth”! Profits and GDP are up, but people & planet are down! The Impasse! Saving the Planet vs Creating Wealth! The Cracks in the Bulwark! The true nature of the international (economic) system under which we were living was not realized until it failed.! - Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation, 1944 The Shift We Need! Money! Economy! People ! & Planet! Energy pressures drive the emergence of organiza@on & lead to a rigorous theory of social dynamics Can human social evolu@on be described in terms common to other sciences, most speciﬁcally, as an energy process? …Energy processes provide a basis for explaining, comparing, and measuring complex social evolu@on. Using tradi@onal ecological energy-‐ﬂow studies as background…this perspec@ve enables [us] to analyze society in terms of natural selec@on of self-‐ organizing energy forms. Richard Newbold Adams, 1988 Organized Complexity: The Science of Nature’s Design Universal paUerns & principles of ﬂow connect physics to the social sciences in a way that enhances instead of harms them Simple Systems Organized Complexity Disorganized Complexity Warren Weaver, 1948 The Exciting Possibility! The science of “ﬂow” can replace today's ﬂawed economic ideology with nature's own laws of health & development The Economic Cycle The Carbon Cycle in Florida Wetlands Robert Ulanowicz, 1996 The Goal of Regenerative Capitalism ! Permanent Sustainability Use nature’s laws of systemic health to develop economies that naturally and con@nually produce social, economic and environmental health. The Copernican Flip in Economics! The science of ﬂow puts human networks at the center of vitality not maximum shareholder proﬁt Money Money-‐centered view Human-‐centered view The Challenge! The human infrastructure required to build a regenera@ve civiliza@on does not yet exist. It must be built and grown. We need to learn HOW. Flow-System Values Change the Picture! Entwined and co-‐evolving with each other and the web of life diversity in community regenera@ve (self-‐renewing) interdependence naturally self-‐sustaining reciprocity resilient learning long-‐term focus co-‐crea@on holis@c development inclusive -‐ everyone wins nested systems (fractals) hUp://www.slideshare.net/FrancesPlectranthus/trans-‐health-‐regenera@on Systemic Health & Holistic Wealth: Inclusive and Interdependent! Source: Ethan Roland & Gregory Landua, Regenera+ve Enterprise, Op+mizing for Mul+-‐Capital Abundance (2013) The Next (Ecological) Stage of Civilization! these impasses & cracks are signs of transi@on @mes Integral – Ecosystem or Web Modern -‐ Machine Medieval -‐ God’s Design Common principles & precise paUerns of ﬂow help us understand and measure systemic health in social systems Common Principle: CIRCULATION Precise PaUern: FRACTAL Fractal arrangements are pervasive because they support systemic circula@on The same ra@o holds across scales Lungs River Delta Tree US Electrical Grid Fractal structures help catalyze ! critical city functions & improve circulation! A Fractal City Nikos Salingaros & Jane Jacobs PRINCIPLE: Balance is cri@cal to systemic health Small, medium & large → RESILIENCE & EFFICIENCY; The Window of Vitality Too diverse & disorganized Stagna4on Small, diverse, ﬂexible Too big & rigid Collapse Big, eﬃcient, focused Robert Ulanowicz, 1996 The Goldilocks Rule in Banking Proper monetary circula@on requires organiza@ons that are “JUST RIGHT” for each scale MEGA BANKS •  Needed for large-‐scale needs •  Small-‐scale uneconomic REGIONAL BANKS •  Support regional networks SMALL-‐SCALE BANKS •  Support small-‐scale commerce •  Know customer & community •  Invested in success of the loan The Dangers of Unbalanced Banking! Economic necrosis Self-feeding Return Loops (autocatalysis)! Vitality comes from circulation & reinvestment, ! not outsourcing and austerity ! Power-‐law paUerns help us iden@fy & assess economic networks Robert Anthony, 1989 Our “Top 10” Measures of Systemic Health! Take-away #1! Las@ng economic vitality comes from people Mining the rich, untapped ore of human desire to participate in holistic community value creation Field Guide to Inves@ng in a Regenera@ve Economy (Susan Chang, Capital Ins@tute) Take-away # 2! A rigorous science of social systems is possible Precise universal paUerns and principles let us understand, measure & create targets for systemic health Take-away #3! Regenera@ve capitalism creates a posi@ve economic narra@ve We are called to be the architects of the future, not its victims.! ! ! ! !! -- Buckminster Fuller! The Secret is Simple: Build healthy human networks! Reinvest! Circulate ! Reliable Inputs! Healthy Outputs! Maintain Balance! 8 Key Principles of Regenera4ve Capitalism •  In right rela@onship •  Views wealth holis@cally •  Innova@ve, adap@ve, responsive •  Empowered par@cipa@on •  Honors community and place •  Edge eﬀect abundance •  Robust circulatory ﬂow •  Seeks balance