The world is in a period of upheaval of tectonic proportions. The COVID19 pandemic has caused seismic tremors that have ruptured long-held beliefs about what economics is and its role in shaping the world. The resulting economic fallout has further fore fronted questions of racial, gender and economic disparities. The climate crisis is asking questions that economics alone cannot answer, yet is a pivotal player in solving. These and other crises have shown the importance of taking heed of the natural sciences and the need to recognize the higher value in other disciplines.
The enormous movements of 2020 have widened the cracks within economics itself, through which appear the well-documented, but sometimes dismissed, criticisms. Critiques of the discipline’s response to climate and ecological breakdown; of its inaccessibility to marginalized groups and its power in public debate; of the necessity of education reform to create the economists of the future – alongside the 2008 financial crisis – sparked the Rethinking Economics movement. Economists, current and aspiring, need to reflect on all of these issues, and more, at this pivotal moment.
The Rethinking Economics International Festival is a celebration of the diverse range of economic ideas and perspectives that can move this process forward. The program of online events offers everyone the opportunity to engage in economic debates relevant to these real-world issues.
Christian Felber, founder of the Economy for the Common Good movement will be part of Session 1b on July 26th.
