The Values Proposition of Wellbeing Economies’ Infrastructure Innovation

This paper argues that for wellbeing economies in a flourishing natural to develop, they need to develop new economic operating infrastructure (EOI) that is built on values that support those goals rather than today’s financial wealth- and economic growth-oriented economic goals. We explore the values underlying multiple different types of social innovations in EOI: new economic narratives and stories, wellbeing governance structures, financing innovations that support equity and ecological flourishing, equitable, responsible, and holistic metrics, currencies that support local needs equitably, and contextually appropriate markets. The paper emphasizes how examples of EOI innovations for each type reflect values of: stewardship of the whole; co-creating collective value; cosmopolitan-localist governance; regenerativity, reciprocity, and circularity; relationality and connectedness; and equitable markets and trade.