Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist
By Kate Raworth (2017)
About the Author and the Book
Kate Raworth is a British economist, researcher at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, and a senior associate at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Before academia, she worked with the United Nations and Oxfam — experiences that profoundly shaped her view of global inequality and ecological limits.
Published in 2017, Doughnut Economics quickly became one of the most influential works in modern economics and sustainability. It was hailed as a “paradigm shift” by The Guardian and The Financial Times, translated into more than 20 languages, and adopted by cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Brussels as a guiding framework for urban policy.
Raworth’s central metaphor — the “doughnut” — redefines prosperity beyond endless growth. The inner ring represents the social foundation every human deserves (food, health, equality, education), while the outer ring represents the ecological ceiling we must not overshoot (climate stability, biodiversity, clean air, water). Between these two rings lies the safe and just space for humanity — the doughnut itself.
“Humanity’s goal for the 21st century,” she writes, “is to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet.”
The book received praise from economists like Joseph Stiglitz, environmental leaders such as Naomi Klein, and policymakers worldwide.
Critics from orthodox economics circles have called it “aspirational but vague,” arguing that it lacks detailed mechanisms for policy application. Still, even skeptics acknowledge its moral clarity and visual genius, making it one of the defining works of post-growth economics.
Part I — Rethinking Economics
Raworth begins by dismantling the seven outdated habits of 20th-century economics and replacing them with seven new principles for the 21st century. The tone is both visionary and deeply practical — she’s not trying to reject economics, but to redeem it.
“We need economics that is fit for the 21st century — an economy that serves people and the planet, not the other way around.”
Chapter 1 — Change the Goal: From GDP Growth to Thriving
Raworth begins by questioning the core obsession of modern economics — growth.
Since World War II, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the measure of success. But GDP, she argues, is blind to justice, blind to well-being, and blind to ecological health.
“We have an economy that must grow, whether or not it makes us thrive. What we need is an economy that makes us thrive, whether or not it grows.”
The doughnut model emerges here as an alternative compass.
At its heart is balance — the goal is not infinite expansion but dynamic equilibrium.
She critiques the “growth fetish” of economists like Kuznets and Friedman and points out how this addiction drives climate breakdown, inequality, and social alienation.
Instead of chasing expansion, she urges leaders to pursue thriving, a word rooted in ecological systems — flourishing within limits.
She gives vivid examples: countries like Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index, Amsterdam’s Doughnut City Initiative, and Costa Rica’s human development achievements at low ecological cost.
Chapter 2 — See the Big Picture: From the Self-Contained Market to the Embedded Economy
Here, Raworth targets one of the most iconic economic diagrams ever drawn: the circular flow of income — households and firms exchanging money, goods, and labor.
She calls it a “dangerous simplification.”
“That neat diagram made us forget the living world, unpaid care, and the state. It shrank the economy to what happens in the marketplace.”
She redraws the picture — a vast system embedded in the biosphere and society. The real economy depends on four spheres:
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The household – where care, unpaid labor, and love sustain life.
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The market – where exchange and profit occur.
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The commons – shared resources and community initiatives.
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The state – which organizes collective action and redistribution.
This vision restores interdependence — a key theme that aligns closely with mindfulness and systems thinking.
“We are not atomized consumers; we are social beings nested in living systems.”
She calls for an economics of stewardship rather than exploitation, linking ecological economics to feminist and cooperative traditions.
Chapter 3 — Nurture Human Nature: From Rational Economic Man to Social, Adaptive Human
Perhaps the most psychologically revealing chapter.
Raworth dissects the myth of Homo Economicus — the rational, self-interested, perfectly informed man at the center of classical economics.
“He has been rationalized, socialized, and, frankly, dehumanized.”
She points out how this model, originally meant as a simplification, became a moral ideal — shaping real human behavior and education. Studies show that students of economics become more selfish over time, learning to optimize self-interest.
In contrast, modern psychology and neuroscience depict humans as cooperative, empathetic, and deeply influenced by culture and reciprocity.
“We are not calculating machines; we are storytelling, interdependent, emotional creatures.”
She advocates designing institutions that bring out the best in human nature — cooperation, curiosity, care — rather than the worst.
This idea resonates profoundly with Buddhist and mindfulness principles: the economy must reflect our interbeing, not our isolation.
Chapter 4 — Get Savvy with Systems: From Mechanical Equilibrium to Dynamic Complexity
Here, Raworth takes aim at another legacy of 19th-century economics: the obsession with equilibrium — the idea that markets naturally self-correct toward stability.
She shows how this metaphor came from Newtonian physics, not from real economies.
“Economies are not machines; they are living systems.”
She introduces systems thinking — seeing economies as nonlinear, feedback-driven, adaptive networks more akin to ecosystems than equations.
Through examples like financial crises, climate tipping points, and supply-chain shocks, she illustrates how small changes can create cascading effects.
She draws from biologists like Donella Meadows (Limits to Growth) and complexity scientists to suggest that resilience, not equilibrium, is the mark of a healthy economy.
“To thrive in the 21st century, we must be gardeners, not engineers.”
This metaphor beautifully captures the shift from control to cultivation — a mindset also echoed in mindfulness practice: attending, not forcing; adapting, not dominating.
Summary of Part I
In these first four chapters, Raworth accomplishes what few economists attempt: she redefines the purpose, perspective, and psychology of economics.
She moves from:
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Growth → Thriving
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Isolation → Interdependence
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Mechanism → Living system
The underlying invitation is moral and spiritual: to redesign the economy as if people and the planet mattered.
“We will not find our future by returning to the past. We must draw the map anew.”
Part II — Designing Economies for the 21st Century
In the first part of the book, Kate Raworth dismantles the myths of traditional economics — growth as the goal, rational man as the actor, equilibrium as the norm.
Now, in the final chapters, she builds something new in their place: a vision of an economy that is distributive by design, regenerative by nature, and agnostic about growth.
“Humanity’s challenge is no longer how to make growth succeed, but how to make ourselves thrive without it.”
Each chapter presents not a formula, but a mindset — a way of seeing and designing that reconnects economics with ecology, morality, and imagination.
Chapter 5 — Design to Distribute: From ‘Growth Will Even It Out’ to Distributive by Design
Traditional economists, Raworth explains, have long believed that inequality naturally shrinks as nations grow — a notion rooted in Simon Kuznets’ 1950s curve, which claimed that inequality first rises, then falls with industrialization.
“It was a comforting story — and it was wrong.”
Decades later, global data shows the opposite: wealth concentration intensifies with growth.
Raworth argues that economies must therefore be designed for equity from the outset, not expected to self-correct through trickle-down.
The Architecture of Inequality
She exposes how today’s economic systems — tax laws, corporate structures, intellectual property regimes — are architectures of inequality.
“Inequality is not an accident; it’s a design feature.”
Her solution is not charity, but redesign — through:
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Employee ownership and cooperatives, ensuring labor shares in wealth.
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Open-source technology that democratizes innovation.
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Progressive taxation and digital wealth redistribution.
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Universal basic services (health, housing, education) as rights, not privileges.
She introduces the concept of “pre-distribution” — shaping markets to distribute value fairly before government redistribution is even needed.
Raworth highlights examples like Mondragón Cooperative (Spain) and Platform Co-ops, which prove that equity and innovation can coexist.
“A healthy economy doesn’t funnel value upward; it circulates it outward.”
This idea mirrors the natural world, where nutrients flow through networks, not hierarchies — a recurring metaphor across the book.
Chapter 6 — Create to Regenerate: From ‘Growth Will Clean It Up’ to Regenerative by Design
If Chapter 5 addresses justice, Chapter 6 addresses ecology.
Raworth contrasts two paradigms:
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The linear economy — take, make, use, waste.
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The circular economy — borrow, use, return, regenerate.
She insists that sustainability is not enough; the future must be regenerative — meaning it restores what it consumes.
“The economy must work with the cycles of life, not against them.”
Raworth draws from systems ecology and biomimicry, showing how energy, waste, and materials can circulate endlessly through closed loops — much like a forest ecosystem.
Examples of Regeneration
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Amsterdam’s Circular City Project adopting Doughnut principles to cut waste and reuse materials.
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Interface Carpets, a global manufacturer that redesigned its supply chain to achieve near-zero waste.
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Farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India, transitioning from pesticide dependence to agroecological resilience.
“Regeneration is not an ideology — it’s biology.”
She also critiques the fallacy of “green growth” — the belief that efficiency alone will save us. Technological improvements, she argues, are often offset by rebound effects (more consumption).
Only redesign — changing goals, ownership, and flow — can align the economy with Earth’s cycles.
“In nature, nothing grows forever — except cancer.”
This chapter beautifully bridges economics and spirituality. The regenerative mindset mirrors the Buddhist idea of interbeing — understanding that all forms of life nourish one another in a web of reciprocity.
Chapter 7 — Be Agnostic About Growth: From Growth-Addicted to Growth-Agnostic Economics
This is the most radical and difficult of Raworth’s “seven ways.”
She calls on economists to stop worshiping growth as a goal in itself and to design systems that can thrive whether or not GDP rises.
“A society that depends on growth to be healthy is like an addict who needs a fix to feel alive.”
She outlines why growth addiction persists:
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Financial dependency – debts, pensions, and corporate expectations all hinge on expansion.
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Political dependency – leaders fear that slowing growth equals losing votes.
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Social dependency – people equate success with more consumption.
But perpetual growth on a finite planet is a paradox. Instead, she proposes a growth-agnostic economy — one that measures progress through well-being, equity, and ecological balance.
“The goal is not to end growth, but to end our need for it.”
She references Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness, New Zealand’s Wellbeing Budget, and the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) as examples of post-GDP frameworks already taking shape.
Raworth’s most powerful metaphor closes the argument:
“We must grow up — not out.”
Just as humans mature without infinite physical growth, societies too can flourish through qualitative development — culture, wisdom, justice, creativity.
Conclusion — Humanity’s Safe and Just Space
Raworth ends on a note of moral clarity and optimism.
The doughnut is not just a diagram — it is a map for civilization’s future.
“For the first time in history, humanity must thrive within planetary boundaries. The 21st century’s task is to build an economy that respects this reality.”
She calls on citizens, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and educators to adopt “doughnut thinking” — to question whether every decision expands or diminishes the safe and just space.
The book closes not as a theory, but as an invitation.
“The 21st-century economist must be a builder of bridges: between people and planet, between rich and poor, between short term and long term.”
Final Reflections on Doughnut Economics
Kate Raworth’s work belongs to a lineage of visionary re-thinkers — from E.F. Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful to Donella Meadows’ Limits to Growth.
But what makes Doughnut Economics singular is its integration of science, ethics, and imagination.
It reframes economics as a moral art — not the science of managing scarcity, but the practice of designing sufficiency.
Her model’s elegance lies in its balance: enough for all, within the means of the planet.
It is an economics of humility — recognizing that human prosperity depends not on domination, but on reciprocity.
“We are the first generation to know the planetary boundaries — and the last with a chance to stay within them.”
The End
Reflection Question for the Circle
As you reflect on what we’ve read today, ask yourself:
“What part of this reading resonated most with where I am in life right now—and why?”
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