Economy for the Common Good (ECG) is a global social movement that advocates an alternative economic model, which is beneficial to people, the planet and future generations. The common good economy puts the

common good In philosophy, economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by c ...

cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...

and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

in the foreground. Human dignity,

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

, ecological

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

and democratic participation are also described as values of the common good economy. The movement behind the model started off in Austria, Bavaria and South Tyrol in 2010 and quickly spread to many countries throughout the EU. It now has active groups in Africa, Latin America, North America and Asia. As of 2021, the movement consists of over 11,000 supporters, 180 local chapters and 35 associations. Christian Felber coined the term "Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie" (Economy for the Common Good) in a best-selling book, published in 2010. According to Felber, it makes much more sense for companies to create a so-called " common good balance sheet" than a financial balance sheet. The common good balance sheet is a value-based measurement tool and reporting method for businesses, individuals, communities, and institutions, which shows the extent to which a company abides by values like human dignity,

and economic

. More than 2,000 organizations, mainly companies, but also schools, universities, municipalities, and cities, support the concept of the Economy for the Common Good. A few hundred have used the Common Good Balance sheet as a means to do their “non-financial” reporting. These include Sparda-Bank Munich, the Rhomberg Group and Vaude Outdoor. Worldwide nearly 60 municipalities are actively involved in spreading the idea. The ECG movement sees itself in a historical tradition from

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

and refers to the fundamental values of democratic

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

Overview

The model has five underlying goals:

# Reuniting the economy with the ''fundamental values'' guiding society in general. Encouraging business decisions that promote
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
,
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, and
sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
. # Transitioning to an economic system that defines serving the “common good” as its principal goal. The business community and all other economic actors should live up to the universal values set down in constitutions across the globe. These include
dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable ...
,
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
,
sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
, and
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
. These do not include
profit maximization In economics, profit maximization is the short run or long run process by which a firm may determine the price, input and output levels that will lead to the highest possible total profit (or just profit in short). In neoclassical economics, w ...
and market domination. # Shifting to a business system that measures success according to the values outlined above. A business is successful and reaps the benefits of its success not when it makes more and more profits, but when it does its best to serve the public good. # Setting the cornerstones of the legal framework for the economy democratically, in processes which result in concrete recommendations for reforming and reevaluating national constitutions and international treaties. # Closing the gaps between feeling and thinking, technology and nature, economy and ethics, science and spirituality.

The Economy for the Common Good calls for reevaluating economic relations by, for example, putting limits on financial speculation and encouraging companies to produce socially-responsible products.

Common Good Balance Sheet

The common good balance sheet is an assessment procedure for private individuals, communities, companies and institutions to check the extent to which they serve the common good.Arbeitsbuch zur Voll-Bilanz
Version 5.0, Stand: 2018 Ecological, social and other aspects are assessed.
von Jonas Gerding, Wirtschafts-Woche, 29. Februar 20163. Internationale Gemeinwohl-Bilanz-Pressekonferenz
Fona, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, 24. April 2014 The procedure is part of the common good economy and was developed by Christian Felber. In conventional

balance sheet In financial accounting, a balance sheet (also known as statement of financial position or statement of financial condition) is a summary of the financial balances of an individual or organization, whether it be a sole proprietorship, a business ...

s, only economic value categories such as profit are taken into account, whereas the common good balance sheet allows reporting on value to society and environment, for example. Common good balance sheets should be easy for everyone to understand;Profit ohne Maximierung
von Markus Klohr, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 10. März 2016 companies should be able to make their common good performance transparent on a single page.Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie und Energiewende
PV Magazin, 24. Februar 2016 In doing so, companies can decide whether to prepare the balance sheet on their own, assess each other in a "peer-group", or appoint an independent auditor.
von Anne Haeming, Spiegel-online, 26. Mai 2016 This distinguishes the common good balance sheet from conventional sustainability reports, which are prepared by the companies themselves. The balancing process for small companies is relatively cheap (1,000 Euros).
Merkur.de, 9. Juli 2015 To date, around 250 companies in the German-speaking world prepare their balance sheets according to Gemeinwohl guidelines,Ein Banker geht aufs Ganze
enorm, Ausgabe 1/2016
Badische Zeitung, 16. Dezember 2014
Forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften, 1. Januar 2015 in Europe there are 350-400 companies (as of early 2016).Das aktuelle Wirtschaftssystem produziert eine Endlosreihe von Kollateralschäden
Die Farbe des Geldes, online-Magazin der Triodos Bank, 3. Juni 2016Gemeinwohl-Orientierung bringt Unternehmen langfristig Vorteile
Schwäbische.de, 22. April 2016Ökonomen wollen Ex-Attac-Aktivist Felber aus Lehrbuch streichen
von Andreas Sator, Der Standard, 8. April 2016 In total, there are 590 German, 631 Austrian, 67 Swiss and 70 South Tyrolean companies that have registered as supporters of Gemeinwohl-Bilanz.UnterstützerInnen der Gemeinwohlökonomie
/ref>Die Saubermänner
von Elena Witzeck, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 10. März 2016 All peer-group and externally audited Gemeinwohl-Bilanzen are publicly available.GWOe-Berichte
Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie According to proponents of the movement, the success of a company should not be determined by how much profit it makes, but rather by the degree to which it contributes to the common good. Companies receive more points in this balance sheet when, for example, employees are satisfied with their jobs or when the top managers do not receive exorbitantly more than the lowest paid worker.Guido Mingels: Die Achse der Guten. In: Der Spiegel. October 10, 2011

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.ecogood.org Social movements Economic systems

Overview

Common Good Balance Sheet

See also

Further reading

References

External links