Regenerative Economics challenges some deeply held assumptions about how the world works. It challenges mindsets that make it harder for us to see better alternatives. It can help us identify "ways to win" instead of "lose more slowly" as we address environmental and social problems.

For example, regenerative economics assumes that people are prime movers, not bystanders, in determining the direction of ecosystems and society. It challenges the idea that political economics is like physics with immutable laws instead of a game with rules we create by mutual agreement.

Regenerative approaches strive for abundance and don’t assume scarcity. If the traditional definition of economics is to “study the allocation of scarce resources” than regenerative economics might instead be to “develop and share abundant resources.” This frame focuses on opportunities to “create” rather than “extract” or “consume”. The goal isn’t to “sustain” but “improve” or “extend”.

Examples from agriculture, particularly those from Ashoka’s Nutrient's for All work and Sanjayan’s PBS TV series Earth a New Wild, helped make the point for me. It isn’t enough just to grow more wheat. We need more nutritious food and richer soil from healthier families.

A few examples of mindset-breaking in practice below.