Contents with Summaries

• As a summary, read down the page at any level you choose - chapters, major sections, minor sections, etc. - skipping others as you wish.
• As contents, click the heading of each.

List of Chapters:

• PART I - Introductory Chapters
  • Chapter 1. Introduction
  • Chapter 2. A Brief Overview of Recent and Conventional Thinking in Economics
  • Chapter 3. Five Perspectives that Guide this Rethink

• PART II - Five Main Chapters
  • Chapter 4. The Meaning, Mandate and Mindset of Economics
  • Chapter 5. Value
  • Chapter 6. Economic Activity as Multi-aspectual Functioning
  • Chapter 7. Good, Harmful and Useless Economic Activity
  • Chapter 8. Entities and Stuff in Economics

• PART III - Going Forward: Applying
  • Chapter 9. Exemplar: How This Might Apply to Environmental Economics
  • Chapter 10. Traditional Issues in Economics
  • Chapter 11. Conclusion

-- PART I - Introductory Chapters --

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. A Brief Overview of Recent and Conventional Thinking in Economics

2-1. Overview of Recent Ideas

Summary: Recent ideas on the economy and many and disparate, yet each contains important insights.

Summary: Conventional economics, both left- and right-wing, also offers value insights, though also many that are not valid. The valid insights contribute to understanding how the economic aspect of reality itself operates.

Summary:

Summary: We seek a framework for understanding economics as such. Instead of just responding to the above insights, we consider five main issues drawn from philosophy.

Chapter 3. Five Perspectives that Guide this Rethink

3-1. Respecting the Pre-theoretical Stance

Summary: We aim to respect the pre-theoretical stance of 'everyday' experience of the reality of economics, along with the theoretical stances that generate ideals and theories.

3-2. Our Philosophical Foundation: Dooyeweerd's Philosophy

Summary: Here we outline what readers will need of Dooyeweerd's philosophy in order to understand the Rethink.

• 3-2.1 Dooyeweerd on the Nature of Reality: Meaningfulness At Root Summary: Dooyeweerd viewed reality in terms of its meaningfulness, and this offers a fresh way of understanding much in economics.
• 3-2.2 Diversity and Complexity Summary: Diversity is founded in distinct modalities of meaning (aspects) that, together, yield countless types of thing, process, etc.
• 3-2.3 Dooyeweerd's Suite of Fifteen Aspects Summary: Dooyeweerd offers a philosophically grounded suite of 15 aspects, which we will use as our conceptual tool.
• 3-2.4 Using Dooyeweerd's Aspects as Conceptual Tool Summary: Dooyeweerd's suite of aspects offers a very useful and versatile conceptual tool because it enables us to clearly separate out issues and is a yardstick by which to detect ignored issues, in both theory and practice.
• 3-2.5 Characteristics of Aspects Summary: To employ Dooyeweerd's aspects we need to recognise their irreducibility, inter-dependency, normativity and a host of other characteristics.
  • 3-2.5.1 First, characteristics of aspects together as a system Summary: Aspects together transcend us, are multiple, equally important, can be known, and enable time.
  • 3-2.5.2 Second, characteristics of aspects individually Summary: Each aspects individually is an irreducibly different sphere of meaning and law, are normative but are not absolute.
  • 3-2.5.3 Third, about relationships among aspects. Summary: Aspects relate by being irreducibly distinct, depending on each other, which implies an order, are never in conflict, and in which the meaning of each contains analogical echoes of others.
• 3-2.6 What Aspects Enable in Reality Summary: Reference to aspects help us understand things, properties, functioning, good and evil, etc. more deeply, because aspects make all these possible.
  • 3-2.6.1 What Aspectual meaningfulness enables Summary: Aspectual meaningfulness enables category, property, relationship, rationality, and being.
  • 3-2.6.2 What Aspectual Law enables Summary: Aspectual Law enables normativity, possibility, functioning, repercussion and knowing.
• 3-2.7 In More Detail Summary: More detail on good, evil, value and ethics, then on functioning and repercussions, then on attitude and mindset.
  • 3-2.7.1 More on good, evil, value and ethics Summary: Good, evil and value are inherent in Dooyeweerd's idea of aspects, not 'bolted on'. They are different for each aspect.
  • 3-2.7.2 On Functioning and repercussions Summary: All that occurs is multi-aspectual functioning with repercussions, both good and harmful. This helps us understand and guide economic activity at all levels.
  • 3-2.7.3 The functioning of attitude and mindset Summary: Two aspects, the ethical and pistic, will be found especially important in understanding the realities of economics, as the hidden influences of attitude and mindset.
• 3-2.8 The Economic Aspect Summary: Economics centres on the economic aspect; what does this imply for how we understand it?
  • 3-2.8.1 Kernel Meaning of the Economic Aspect Summary: The economic aspect makes respect for objects, value, limits, future-orientation and sustainability meaningful.
  • 3-2.8.2 Links with other aspects Summary: Many concepts in economics can be understood as meaningful in the economic and one or two other aspects.
  • 3-2.8.3 What we see via the economics aspect Summary: Viewing only through the lens of the economic aspect blinds us to issues meaningful in post-economic aspects.
• 3-2.9 Conclusion About Dooyeweerd Summary: Dooyeweerd's philosophy is a good philosophical foundation for rethinking economics, and his suite of aspects offers a useful conceptual tool, comprehensive, flexible and embracive.

3-3. Spiritual / Religious Perspectives

Summary: Christian, other religious and spiritual perspectives can offer insights that are usually overlooked in economics theory and practice, but which are important for a full understanding of economics, and especially to motivate and enable deep change rather than just discuss.

• 3-3.1 A Christian Economics? Summary: We do not seek a Christian Economics, but rather to bring valuable insights into economics from Christianity and other religions or spirituality.
• 3-3.2 Using Scripture Verses? Summary: Instead of using Scripture verses to dictate economic policy or theory, we look for deeper insights from religious / spirituality perspectives.
• 3-3.3 Religious / Spirituality Perspective 1: Holistic Viewpoint Summary: Most religions and general spirituality help us towards holistic, all-inclusive viewpoints.
• 3-3.4 Religious / Spirituality Perspective 2: Emphasis on Overlooked Values Summary: Religious and spirituality perspectives draw attention to values that are often overlooked, yet are important, in real economics.
• 3-3.5 Religious / Spirituality Perspective 3: Divine Authority Providing Normative Impetus Summary: A religious perspective adds a compelling motivation to act. Without it, the theoretical explanations and models found in a scientific field like economics remain sterile.
• 3-3.6 Judaic Perspective 1: Creator and Creation Summary: The Biblical idea that all is Created by the Divine has many useful implications for economics.
• 3-3.7 Judaic Perspective 2: The Role of Humankind Summary: Humankind is to 'shepherd' the rest of Creation with love and care and open up its potential - by science, technology, discourse, policy, etc. Heart attitude is central.
  • 3-3.7.1 Representing God Summary: Humans represent God to the rest of Creation.
  • 3-3.7.2 Israel representing God as a nation among nations Summary: The mandate of Israel is to represent God's culture of tsedeq and shalom to peoples of other cultures.
  • 3-3.7.3 Heart and Culture Summary: Most important is heart and its societal equivalent, culture, because these 'determine' behaviour.
• 3-3.8 Jewish Perspective 3: Sin and Repentance Summary: The Jewish perspective offers the freedom-giving idea of sin and possibility of repentance.
  • 3-3.8.1 Sin Summary: The idea of sin is that Harm is not inherent in Creation but arises from evil human functioning.
  • 3-3.8.2 Individual and structural sin Summary: Corrupt heart and sinful, harmful activity occur at both individual and structural (societal) level, each reinforcing the other.
  • 3-3.8.3 Repentance Summary: Repentance is "I am / we are wrong and choose to change." I / we no longer blame others, even if they too are wrong. Economics needs to repent.
  • 3-3.8.4 Some grounds for hope Summary: Repentance makes hope possible in principle, including in economics and environment.
  • 3-3.8.5 Towards Repentance ? Summary: Major crises are often God's warnings, calling us to wake up and repent.
• 3-3.9 Christian Perspective 1: Change of Heart Summary: A Christian perspective offers a way of inner transformation to change the heart of people; salvation through Jesus Christ and the work of the Spirit of God.
• 3-3.10 Christian Perspective 2: Transforming Spheres of Life, Societies and Cultures Summary: A Christian perspective offers the hope of transforming spheres of life, including economics.
• 3-3.11 Christian Perspective 3: Fuller Grounds for Hope Summary: Grounds for hope are in God's action when we respond fully to God's call.
• 3-3.12 Concluding Remarks about Religions Perspectives Summary: Religious perspectives can contribute to economics theory and practice is at least nine ways, all of which need to be taken into account in a major Rethink.

3-4. Ideas, Theories and Engaging with Them

Summary: In rethinking economics we try to engage fruitfully with, and embrace, all ideas, regardless of source. To do this, we need to understand how ideas arise.

• 3-4.1 Embracing All Ideas (in Principle) Summary: We embrace all ideas, whether from left or right, orthodox or heterodox, recent or ancient, seeking to discern the valid insight and understand where they might be flawed.
• 3-4.2 Dynamic Movements of Ideas Summary: Ideas arise, are fashionably followed, reacted against, and new ideas arise. It is a story of different aspects being elevated at different times.
• 3-4.3 A Methodology For Engaging With Ideas: LACE Summary: In order to engage sensitively with extant ideas, whether recent or conventional, we Listen, Affirm, Critique, Enrich (LACE).
• 3-4.4 Three Types of Theoretical Thinking Summary:
• 3-4.5 Practical Analysis Summary: Analysis involves abstracting from the real, and aspectual analysis can help avoid some of its pitfalls.
• 3-4.6 Aspectual Analysis Summary: Aspectual analysis involves Dooyeweerd's suite of aspects to identify how each element of a situation or text is meaningful, and it overcomes some problems frequently encountered in analysis.
• 3-4.7 Scientific Theory-Formation Summary: Scientific theory-formation requires appropriate reasoning from data. Each aspect offers an irreducibly distinct kind of rationality, all of which must be considered. Paradigms express meaningfulness of selected aspects.
• 3-5.8 Philosophical Reflection Summary: Philosophy reflects on the whole range of meaningfulness that makes all theories, analyses and even everyday life important. It is what enables us to understand paradigms and worldviews, and their emergence.
• 3-4.9 Why our thinking in economics is not neutral Summary: Analysis, theory-formation and philosophical reflection can never be neutral because of three fundamental characteristics of theoretical thinking.
• 3-4.10 For Academics: Are We Imposing an Overarching Framework? Summary: Dooyeweerd's suite of aspects is no overarching framework, but gives freedom to generate frameworks.
• 3-4.11 Conclusion of Embracing and Engaging Summary:

3-5. Multi-aspectual Overall Good

Summary: The notion of Multi-aspectual Overall Good brings together the fragments of what many recent thinkers have drawn attention to.

3-6. Conclusion

Summary: These five perspectives allow us to tackle a wide range of undertakings that make up economics.

-- PART II - Five Main Chapters --

Chapter 4. The Meaning, Mandate and Mindset of Economics

4-1. Views About Economics

Summary: How is economics defied and what are the weaknesses in these definitions? What Good can and should economics bring?

• 4-1.1 Incomplete Definitions of Economics Summary: Conventional definiitions of economic are insufficient; what insight may we glean from them? We propose another.
• 4-1.2 Multi-aspectual Overall Good Summary: Most discussions of economics implicitly presuppose some kind of Multi-aspectual Good aim for economics. We make this explicit.

4-2. The Meaning of Economics

Summary: Economics: so what? The meaning of economics is given by the economic aspect of reality closely linked with all other aspects, omitting none. With the help of Dooyeweerd, but going further, we discuss what unique, kernel meaning the economic aspect offers.

• 4-2.1 How to Discuss the Meaning of Economics Summary: Any question of meaning is best answered by reference to aspects (modalities of meaningfulness). To discuss the meaning of economics we first try to disclose the kernel meaningfulness of the economic aspect, and then bring in its links with all other aspects. Kernel meaning includes Good, norms, operations and links with other meanings.
• 4-2.2 Separating Out Meanings in Extant Ideas Summary: Extant definitions and other ideas about economics include a tangle of meanings that need to be separated out.
• 4-2.3 The Economic Aspect: Its Meaning-Kernel and Norm Summary: The meaning-kernel and norm of the economic aspect are what the economic aspect brings into reality: dignity, value, sustainability, frugality, etc.
• 4-2.4 The Economic Among Other Aspects Summary: The full meaning of economics involves the meaningfulness of all other aspects, and externalities need to be brought into the heart of economics.
• 4-2.5 Shaping Economics in All Its Forms Summary: Our characterization of economic gives shape to all the uses of the word "economic" and can speak into all definitions.
• 4-2.6 Externalities Summary: Externalities may be understood as links to other aspects.
• 4-2.7 Embedded Economics Summary: Economics should not be isolated from other spheres of life but embedded among them, interwoven with them.
• 4-2.8 Redefining Some Concepts in Economics Summary: Concepts commonly referred to in economics are redefined in terms of aspects.

4-3. The Mandate of/for Economics

Summary: What should economics aim to do in the world? Seldom is its mandate discussed. The mandate for economics is to help humanity manage what it deems resources with respect (frugally), so that, as we employ those resources we contribute towards Multi-aspectual Good.

• 4-3.1 On Mandates Summary: Mandates are about what something should aim at. They are normative, point to the future, and apply to both theory and practice.
• 4-3.2 The Mandate Specific to Economics Summary: The mandate for economics is to help humanity manage what it deems resources with respect (frugally), that are employed to better contribute towards Multi-aspectual Overall Good, without harm or waste.
• 4-3.3 The Role of Other Aspects in the Mandate of/for Economics Summary: Other aspects are important in the mandate of/for economics in both the responsibility of economics and in supporting economics.
• 4-3.4 Sub-mandates for Each Entity in Economics Summary: What is the mandate of national economies, economics science, money, banks, etc.?
• 4-3.5 Economic Growth Summary: Economic growth is not bad in itself but has become an evil because of selfish attitude and idolatrous mindset. In place of discussing questions of whether economic growth is good o bad, or how much growth to allow, we suggest several principles by which we may understand and manage it.

4-4. Mindset-Attitude in Economics

Summary: Sadly, economics is often isolated from other spheres of life, both in its theories and its practice, and by both many economists and also by those who use economics. This is society's mindset towards economics; it tends towards reductionism and idolatry, but needs to change to embeddedness.

• 4-4.1 Mindsets Summary: Mindsets are our functioning in the pistic aspect, as both individuals and societies. They range from valid and good to idolatrous, destructive. They deeply affect both theory and practice.
• 4-4.2 Valid Focus: The Science and Discipline of Economics Summary: In good science and discipline of economics, we focus on the econommic aspect in relation to others.
• 4-4.3 Undue Elevation of Economics Summary: Economics has been elevated above other spheres of life, especially by those who use it. This is unhealthy and needs to be rectified.
• 4-4.4 Scientific Mindset: Reductionism Summary: Reductionism is when one aspect is presupposed as able to account for all else, and all other kinds of value are reduced to it.
• 4-5 Philosophical Mindset: Ground-motives Summary: Ground-motives are deep presuppositions about the origin of meaning that steer a society's thinking over a long period, including what economics is about.
• 4-4.6 Religious Mindset: Idolatry Summary: Idolatry treats the favoured thing, aspect or sphere of life as 'divine', with absolute authority over us. Economics is often an idol.

4-5. Towards Embedded, Meaningful and Good Economics

Summary: To overcome problems in economics we need to explicitly recognise multi-aspectual meaning, a mandate towards Good and abandon a mindsets that elevate, isolate or idolise economics, by recognising every aspect explicitly in both practice and tneory.

Chapter 5. Value

5-1. Values and Economic Value

Summary: There are multiple, irreducibly distinct kinds of value. Economic value is only one kind and needs to be able to express all others faithfully.

5-2. What is Value?

Summary: Value has been variously understood. We link value of something to the Good in contributes, or could contribute, to Multi-aspectual Good. Dooyeweerd's aspects can help us understand the diversity of kinds of value.

• 5-2.1 Some Ideas about Value Summary: Different ideas about what value is. An integrating framework is needed.
• 5-2.2 Aspects as Values Summary: Each aspect defines a distinct kind of value. They may be combined in multi-aspectual things or situations.
• 5-2.3 Human and Cultural Values Summary: Human and cultural values are not different from kinds of value but are the holding of them as important.

5-3. Economic Value And Aspectual Value

Summary: Economic value is the value of an object as resource that enables us to function with wisdom in contributing sustainably to Multi-aspectual Good.

5-4. Assessing Value

Summary: Assessing value is a useful tool, but is complex and inherently distorts our understanding of real value, which needs to be properly understood.

• 5-4.1 Questioning Assessment of Value Summary: What, why and how of assessing value.
• 5-4.2 Fundamental Limits and Dangers of Assessment Summary: Assessing value is inherently flawed and distorting, because of two main kinds of fundamental limitations.
• 5-4.3 Using Aspects in Assessment Summary: Aspects may be used to separate out different kinds of value, uncover hidden values and deepen our understanding of values.
• 5-4.4 Indices Summary: Many quantitative indices: GDP, HDI, GPI, etc. All are limited and some work against others.
• 5-4.5 Price Summary: What exactly is wrong and right with price as a measure of value?
• 5-4.6 Wages Summary: Wages are more than money, and express at least three different things.
• 5-4.7 Judgment Summary: Ultimately, all assessment is done to make good judgments, and we must remember that there are ways of doing this without assessment.

5-5. Applying The Above Ideas

Summary: Dealing with a few known issues can indicate how the above ideas can bring fresh insight.

• 5-5.1 Valuing Externalities Summary: Instead of labelling impact of economic activity on other spheres of life anonymously as "externalities", and considering their value only as they impact the economy, we value them directly.
  • 5-5.1.1 Example: Assessing Raworth's Social Floor Summary: Raworth's Doughnut Economics recognises multi-aspectual values - but not perfectly.
• 5-5.2 The Value in Unpaid Activity Summary: To value only paid work brings many problems. Unpaid (household) activity has immense value, which should be brought into economics (theory and practice). Dooyeweerd's aspects can help us understand its diverse value.
  • 5-5.2.1 The Meagre Discourse Around Unpaid Work Summary: There is very little discussion and understanding about the nature of unpaid economic activity.
  • 5-5.2.2 Why unpaid activity must be valued Summary: Unpaid economic activity should be valued because it generates much Good (or Harm) that needs to be taken into account, and also because it is often of higher quality than equivalent paid work.
  • 5-5.2.3 How to value unpaid economic activity Summary: The value of unpaid activity may be understood via Dooyeweerd's aspects, of which each is equally important.
• 5-5.4 Compensation and Reparations Summary: This approach can help discussing and calculating compensation and historical reparations.
• 5-5.5 Value in Today's Specialised Economy: Labour and Use; Productivity and Capital Summary: The value of capital and labour can be clarified by understanding direct and indirect contributions to Good in each aspect.
  • 5-5.5.1 Value of Capital Summary: Capital gains its value from its potential to enable people to contribute to Multi-aspectual Good.
  • 5-5.5.2 Value of Labour Summary: The value of labour is of two types, both of which are important. The main one being indirect, in that labour produces goods and services that others use in functioning that contributes to Multi-aspectual Good. Labour also contributes directly from its own multi-aspectual functioning.
• 5-5.6 Productivity Summary: Productivity is variously (mis)understood, and so misleads us. An aspectual understanding can avoid this.
• 5-5.7 GDP Summary: GDP needs radical rethink, and governments' adherence to it is a disaster. GDP should indicate the what not just the how-much. It should subtract the Bad from the Good, not add it to it. Aspects can help us do this.

5-6. Conclusions

Summary: Economic value should express faithfully all the different kinds of value. Dooyeweerd's aspects can help us do this.

Chapter 6. Economic Activity as Multi-aspectual Functioning

6-1. Some Theory About Economic Activity

Summary: The range of theories about how we behave in economic activity is wide, though not wide enough, and rather fragmented. We suggest how Dooyeweerd offers a fuller and more integrated picture.

• 6-1.1 Mathematical Understanding of Economic Activity Summary:
• 6-1.2 Homo Economicus: The Self-interested Rational Economic Actor Summary: The paradigm of the Self-interested Rational economic Actor has dominated economics for decades but is very deeply flawed, misleading and even false, leading to much harm.
• 6-1.3 Behavioral Economics Summary: Behavioral Economics offers some understanding on how other aspects impact economic activity, but it is fragmented and patchy in its coverage.
• 6-1.4 Limitations of Behavioral Economics Summary: Behavioral Economics brings in other aspects, it currently has several limitations, and we suggest how they might be tackled.
• 6-1.5 Macroeconomic Economic Activity Summary: Macroeconomics can be understood within the same framework as microeconomics, by recognising that whole economies also function in all aspects.

6-2. Economic Activity as Multi-aspectual Human Functioning

Summary: If we understand economic activity as multi-aspectual functioning led by the economic aspect, then we discover a systematic, integrative treatment that is able to embrace most extant theories, and also recognise unpaid activity.

• 6-2.1 Kernel Meaning: What is Economic Activity? Summary: Understanding the kernel meaning of the economic aspect brings many activities into economics alongside buying and selling. Understanding all aspects enriches .
• 6-2.2 Multi-aspectual functioning: The Richness of Economic Activity Summary: All economic activity involves all aspects, along with the economic functioning.
• 6-2.3 Normativity: The Norms of Economic Activity Summary: The kernel norm of economic activity, defined by the economic aspect, is frugality without waste - but for flourishing economic activity the norms of all aspects are important.
• 6-2.4 Target Aspects: Kinds of Economic Activity Summary: The various kinds of economic activity may be understood as having different target aspects.
• 6-2.5 Ranges of Aspects: Micro, Macro, etc. Levels Summary: The various levels of economic activity - micro, macro, meso, global - may be understood and integrated by recognising ranges of aspects.
• 6-2.6 Repercussions of Functioning: Especially Externalities Summary: Economic activity has repercussions in all aspects ('externalities'), and generates value or anti-value meaningful in those aspects.
• 6-2.7 Inter-aspect Dependencies: Structural Retrocipation Summary: By Dooyeweerd's idea of inter-aspect dependency we can understand the impact of societal structures, and thus link macro to micro economics.

6-3. Ethical and Pistic Functioning in Economics: Culture

Summary: The culture of economics needs to change, but what is culture and how do we change it? The ethical and pistic are two main aspects of culture, and understanding how they operate therein reveals lets us understand the hidden impact that culture has on economics, and suggests what needs to be done to change culture. Especially, benefit from the experience that religions have accumulated about these two aspects.

• 6-3.1 Some Views about Economics and Culture Summary: People are now discussing cultural and spiritual issues in economics, but few discuss how these operate and what to do. Trainer does, but his ideas need extending.
• 6-3.2 Understanding the Impact of Ethical and Pistic Functioning (Culture) on Economics Summary: Most of what is written about culture of economics is about ethical and pistic functioning, so explicitly treating as such helps us understand culture better.
  • 6-3.2.1 Some examples of ethical functioning's impact on economics
  • 6-3.2.2 More on pistic functioning's impact on economics
  • 6-3.2.3 Mutual ethical and pistic reinforcement
• 6-3.3 Changing Culture Summary: How can we change problematic mindsets or attitudes? Pistic and ethical problem requires pistic and ethical solution.
• 6-3.4 Conclusions on Culture: Ethical and Pistic Functioning Summary:

6-4. Our Model and How To Use It

Summary: A model of economic activity based on Dooyeweerd's ideas, and how to use it to understand things.

• 6-4.1 The Model Summary: The model in simplified and detailed form: multi-aspectual functioning generating (anti-)value, and our viewpoints.
• 6-4.2 How to Use the Model in Practice and Research Summary: We may study multi-aspectual functioning by examining situations (and reports) closely to find out in which aspect each detail is meaningful, and then see how the aspects link together.

6-5. Some Paradoxes in Economics

Summary: Many paradoxes in economics may be resolved by understanding the importance of aspects that have been overlooked or confused.

• 6-5.1 Jevons' Paradox: Efficiency Does Not Decrease Scarce Resource Consumption Summary: Jevons' Paradox, that more efficiency sometimes leads to more, not less, total consumption, may be resolved by understanding the aspectual functioning that is going on.
• 6-5.2 The Apparent Paradox of Smith's Invisible Hand Summary:
• 6-5.3 The Prosperity Paradox Summary:
• 6-5.4 The Easterlin Happiness Paradox Summary:
• 6-5.5 The Technology Productivity Paradox Summary:
• 6-5.6 The Value (Diamond-Water) Paradox Summary:

6-6. Understanding Some Issues in Economics via Aspectual Functioning

Summary: This section demonstrates how the above understanding can help us rethink concepts, practices, paradoxes and problems in economics.

• 6-6.1 A Richer Understanding of Poverty Summary: We redefine poverty to recognise all its aspects, not just numerical amounts of money. Similarly inequality. This will both enrich theory and make policy more successful.
• 6-6.2 Inequality Summary: Both the causes of inequality, and what is actually problematic about inequality are usefully understood and discussed by reference to Dooyeweerd's suite of aspects.
• 6-6.3 Reparations for Historical Wrongs Summary:
• 6-6.4 Labour and Use Summary: Understanding labour as multi-aspectual functioning led by the formative aspect that makes productiveness and quality meaningful, helps us deal with labour-related issues more clearly.
  • 6-6.4.1 Understanding labour with Dooyeweerd Summary: We understand labour as multi-aspectual functioning that generates an object intended for someone else to use, some aspects having special roles.
  • 6-6.4.2 Application Summary: That conceptual framework can help us tackle various labour-related issues and themes.
• 6-6.5 Unpaid Activity Summary: Unpaid household work is usually ignored in economic calculations, which puts so-called LDNs at a disadvantage. A central focus on human functioning that contributes to Multi-aspectual Good automatically brings unpaid activity into the purview of economics, both theory and practice.
  • 6-6.5.1 The SNA Approach
  • 6-6.5.2 Unpaid work as multi-aspectual functioning
  • 6-6.5.3 Aspectual Analysis of unpaid work
• 6-6.6 The Tragedy of the Commons and the Free-Rider Problem Summary: The roots of both the Tragedy of the Commons and the Free-Rider Problem are exposed, leading to ways to address them.
• 6-6.7 Urbanisation and Ecovillage Summary: Some see urbanisation as a major problem and propose ecovillage systems as a solution.
• 6-6.8 The Circular Economy Summary: The idea of circular economy is appealing and important, but its flaws have not yet been properly understood or addressed.
• 6-6.9 Notes on Some Other Economics Phenomena Summary: We are offered fresh insights into standard economics phenomena like investment, innovation, trade and aid, and competition.

6-9. Conclusion on Functioning

Chapter 7. Good, Harmful and Useless Economic Activity