The Wonderful Circles of Oz

Abstract

With the world's economies impacted by coronavirus, billions are feeling social, environmental, and economic injustices. The call for a new, more just, more distributive economic story and system is louder and more urgent than ever. The Wonderful Circles of Oz provides both the framework and solutions for navigating towards an effective circular economy - the gateway to an abundant, autonomous, and democratic future. Widely regarded as one of the world's most engaging circular economy thought leaders, Ken Webster, together with creative writer, Alex Duff, use a storytelling approach based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to offer a new, accessible, and compelling narrative about the future direction of our economy. 'The harder you work, the more you'll improve your lot.' That's the simple story we've been sold over the last 40 years to justify how today's economy works. Yet extreme inequality, the devastation of our natural world, and the erosion of our communities tell us this economic story resembles a work of fiction and the way our extractive economy operates is not fit for purpose. Still a restoration narrative, a satisfying story about our future and how we'll get there, is slow to emerge. Using allegory, commentary, and reflection, this book helps speed the shift from an extractive economy of materials, energy, and finance to one based on an effective circular economy, which builds wealth as a stock of solutions accessible to all. The Wonderful Circles of Oz goes beyond tired debates (capital vs labour and market vs state) and blends fiction and non to effectively communicate the need for macro-economic system redesign. Exploring complex change and containing echoes of modern monetary theory, this book is a must for business professionals, students, and anyone with an interest in the circular economy. © 2023 Ken Webster and Alex Duff. All rights reserved.