Shaping a More Meaningful Economy — Part 1
Toward a New Vision
For pioneers who are committed to a Brighter Future
Imagine being a pioneer, tirelessly engaged in associations or initiatives, feeling like David against Goliath as you effectively address challenges but are never truly able to tackle the larger problems. Are you ready to break free from old thought patterns and venture into uncharted territory?
At One-X, we understand that the existing economic system is ill-equipped to effectively address the problems it has created. Let’s illustrate this point with a real-life example: Meet John, a passionate social entrepreneur dedicated to tackling social inequality. Despite his unwavering efforts and local successes, John struggles to expand the reach of his initiative. He observes similar initiatives being undertaken elsewhere, but even when combined, they cannot address the root causes of the issue. It becomes evident that the current economic system acts as a barrier, impeding their progress and undermining their impact. Many pioneers, like John, face similar obstacles. However, there is hope.
We invite you to join us in exploring a new vision — one that challenges the status quo and embraces a more meaningful economic system. Over the past few years, we have been actively experimenting with practical approaches to realize this vision. Now, we want to introduce you to the concept and extend an invitation to join us in this transformative endeavor.
We are seeking co-creators to bring this new economic system to life in larger real-world contexts, where it can be further tested and create substantial impact. After two years of successful proof-of-concept, we believe that One-X is now mature enough to provide value to others.
Our biggest challenges
The existing global economic system, which has delivered remarkable success in the past, has reached its limits. The most pressing problems of this system are twofold. Firstly, growing social inequality deprives a significant portion of the global population of the opportunity to fully develop. Consider the millions of people who lack access to education, healthcare, and basic necessities. Secondly, the excessive exploitation of natural resources poses a threat to the well-being of vulnerable populations today and jeopardizes the future well-being of all. We witness the devastating effects of climate change and environmental degradation every day.
While numerous initiatives exist to address these challenges, they often operate within the same economic system that gave rise to these problems in the first place. These initiatives work in parallel, trying to compensate for the system’s shortcomings without dealing with the root causes that must be addressed to truly solve our biggest challenges.
What Is Holding Us Back
Our individual choices are often ‘collectively creating results that (almost) nobody wants,’ as Otto Scharmer aptly wrote. Take the issue of overconsumption. Individually, each purchase may seem insignificant, but when multiplied across nations, it has a tremendous impact on the environment and society. Some decisions are best made at the individual level without the need for collective integration. However, when resources that could be depleted are at stake, effective integration of individual activities is required. Examples include CO2 emissions in an attempt to limit global warming, or the use of government resources to best meet the overall needs of citizens. The current economic system lacks effectiveness in aligning individual choices with the collective needs. We need a more effective approach that balances personal interests with the well-being of others and the planet.
Consider wealth distribution within countries — a prime example of the flaws in our current mechanisms. Worker forces prioritize their incomes, while business owners prioritize profits. The integration of these conflicting interests often results in a minority being employed with good compensation, while the majority struggles due to unemployment or insufficient wages. The taxation system attempts to address the negative effects of this disparity, but it’s a reactive measure that falls short of achieving true fairness.
By acknowledging these challenges and their root causes, we can see that individual and collective decisions often yield poor outcomes, necessitating significant effort to rectify afterward. This inefficiency and imbalance can be resolved by establishing fair and balanced remuneration from the outset. Imagine a system where fair wages and equitable wealth distribution are foundational principles. Such a system would save us from the unnecessary effort and resources wasted in addressing the consequences of an unequal economic structure.
By distinguishing between decisions that are best taken individually and those that should be taken collectively, and by becoming more effective in integrating individual interests into fitting collective decisions, we can not only solve our biggest challenges but also set the foundation for a new era of prosperity. To get there, we need to find the courage to let go of some old beliefs and accept new ones.
A Shared Vision
In order to redefine the core principles of a more meaningful economy, it is important to establish a shared vision. While we may agree that the current system is inadequate, we still lack a collective understanding of what the next economic system should embody.
How would it feel to live in a society where fairness, sustainability, and collaboration are guiding principles? We want to explore these questions to create a shared vision that is both desirable and realistic. A vision that cannot effectively address our biggest challenges would only waste our valuable resources and lead to frustration.
The qualities encompassed by this new vision should address all relevant aspects of the economy and have the ability to tackle our greatest challenges. We should focus on essential and feasible elements while disregarding unnecessary components that might distract us. Additionally, we should anticipate and address potential concerns and skepticism, as addressing these doubts head-on will strengthen our shared vision.
One-X’s long-term goal is to work together to meet the needs of everyone in the world. This sounds like a utopian goal at first, but One-X offers us the ideal experimental space to get closer to this goal step by step.
New Qualities For a New System: A Closer Look
The introduction of the new economic system signifies a departure from the current global economic paradigm and presents a set of distinct qualities. One-X embodies an economic system characterized by voluntary engagement, peer empowerment, environmental respect, purposeful investment, and fair participation. Let’s explore each of these qualities in more detail, considering how they differ from the current economy and why they are now necessary to tackle our biggest challenges. In future articles we’ll explore how these qualities have been or could be realized.
1. Voluntary Engagement
In One-X, individuals work within organizations out of their own free will. They are driven by intrinsic motivation and have the freedom to adjust their contributions as their capabilities and interests evolve. Work is viewed as an integral and fulfilling part of life, rather than a burdensome obligation. Relationships between individuals and organizations are built on trust, transparency, and flexibility, avoiding complex contracts and unnecessary litigations.
In the current economy, working for multiple organizations is often driven by necessity rather than choice, and work is commonly viewed as burdensome. Many workers lack engagement and are driven by extrinsic motivators like pay raises and job security. Decoupling performance and compensation would allow people to follow their intrinsic motivation and diverse interests to support our society. One-X harnesses the true potential of individuals and fosters their meaningful contribution, promoting personal growth and societal development.
2. Peer Empowerment
One-X treats individuals as autonomous peers, empowering them to make well-informed decisions and democratically influence the system’s governance at every level. Unbiased information empowers individuals to make better choices, and their voice is heard by representatives who have the explicit task of working with their electorate to find innovative solutions fitting for the needs of all people involved.
In the current economy, information is strategically crafted to manipulate responses, and elected representatives are often swayed by special interests. One-X ensures that individuals have access to unbiased information, empowering them to make well-informed decisions. By holding representatives responsible for considering the needs of the people, we offer them the basis for finding balanced solutions to the biggest challenges.
3. Environmental Respect
In One-X, individuals and organizations operate with a profound sense of responsibility toward the environment. They actively collaborate to protect and optimize the utilization of available resources, prioritizing resource reusability and proper disposal. One-X rejects the practice of externalizing costs for individual profit maximization and makes decisions by considering the costs and benefits for the entire society.
In the current economy, the externalization of environmental costs is the norm. Due to overconsumption, we are globally depleting our resources in an unsustainable way, often driven by the interests of a few. One-X recognizes the urgent need to respect and preserve the environment for the well-being of current and future generations. By prioritizing responsible resource utilization and rejecting externalized costs, we can mitigate the negative environmental consequences and work towards a more sustainable future.
4. Purposeful Investment
Within One-X, resources are consciously allocated to organizations and initiatives that collectively aim to meet the needs of all. We base investment decisions on their expected impact on collective needs rather than individual interests or personal advantage. This ensures that investments are directed towards objectives that benefit all participants, improving the lives of individuals and fostering collaboration.
In the current economy, investment decisions are often driven by individual capital availability and expected returns, with little consideration given to the alignment with the actual needs of the people. This results in redundant spending on less effective objectives and hinders collaboration. By explicitly collaborating to achieve outcomes that genuinely meet people’s needs, we can avoid resource waste and create positive change for all.
5. Fair Participation
In One-X, every individual’s needs are equally valued, regardless of their location, occupation, identity, or possessions. Within One-X, individuals receive what they need to lead a good life, no more and no less. In the same way, each person bears equal responsibility for our collective well-being and contributes according to their individual capabilities. With fair treatment and equitable distribution of work unemployment, burnouts, and extreme wage gaps do not exist within One-X.
In the current economy, social inequality persists, perpetuating an unjust system. Opportunities and working conditions vary greatly, leaving many individuals struggling while a few enjoy a life of privilege. One-X aims to address this fundamental need for fairness by valuing each individual equally and ensuring that everyone contributes according to their capabilities while having what is needed to lead a good life. By achieving a more equitable system, we improve the lives and perspectives of many, and unleash their full potential.
Each of these qualities takes us one step closer to addressing our challenges, but only together do they enable us to disentangle individual and community interests and make necessary decisions with newfound clarity. By thoroughly implementing these five qualities, we create the essential conditions for a profound transformation in the way we work and live together. Once these qualities are effectively established, they will naturally pave the way for many other desirable changes to unfold as direct consequences. Not only will we finally address poverty and overconsumption, but we will also greatly simplify many activities that currently do not contribute directly to people’s well-being, like taxation and intellectual property.
Do you believe that each of these qualities is necessary and sufficient to overcome our significant challenges? Is there a crucial aspect you feel is missing? We encourage you to share your thoughts and join forces in refining this vision before transforming it into a tangible reality!
Shaping the New System Together
The initial ideas that led to One-X emerged toward the end of 2018 and were informed by our previous experiences with Theory U, Spiral Dynamics, self-organization, and grassroots initiatives in large companies. In early 2020, we began experimenting with One-X as an ecosystem and have been continuously adapting our approaches based on our experiences ever since. Since July 2022, we have come together in an association, where the principles and governance of One-X have been anchored in a charter.
We have experienced the added value of the five qualities more and more clearly in recent years, and we know there is still much more to discover. Can you also see this potential?
To achieve these qualities, we have established ten principles, with two principles supporting each quality. The implementation of these principles is backed by concrete practices that have proven effective. In the upcoming articles of this series, we will delve into these principles and practices, sharing the results we have achieved so far and inviting more ideas and experiences.
What are we waiting for?
The idea of transitioning to a more meaningful economy may seem daunting, leaving us uncertain about where to begin. We might believe that a revolution or a drastic societal upheaval is necessary before we can embrace the five transformative qualities. However, this is far from the truth. In fact, a small group of individuals can start creating their own One-X ‘bubble’, just as we have done, and begin experiencing the profound benefits of these new qualities. With a few bubbles established, connecting them into a larger system becomes entirely feasible. This process can be repeated until the new system becomes the prevailing norm.
The beauty of this approach is that it does not demand changing existing laws or waiting for external forces to align. The power to initiate change lies within our own hands. All that is required is our personal decision to take action and the courage to embark on this transformative journey.
So now, the question is: What do you need to find the courage and trust to take that first step? Reflect on the possibilities that lie ahead. Consider the profound impact a more meaningful economy could have in addressing the pressing challenges we face.
Where to Go From Here
If these topics resonate with you, we invite you to read other articles in this series. All articles are linked below.
If you are still not sure whether these topics are relevant to you, take a moment for a personal reflection on the need for a more meaningful economy. Consider the challenges we face and how a new economic system could address them. Feel free to reach out to us personally at info@one-x.org, and we will respond promptly.
We welcome pioneers who are eager to share their principles, practices, and experiences with us and work together to develop a new economic system for broader application.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Andrea Demaria & Tobias Bantzhaff
Articles of the series Shaping a more meaningful economy
- Part 1: Toward a New Vision (this article)
- Part 2: Voluntary Engagement
- Part 3: Peer Empowerment
- Part 4: Environmental Respect
- Part 5: Purposeful Investment
- Part 6: Fair Participation
- Part 7: A Path to the New Economy
- Part 8: Fundamentals of One-X (to be published)