For decades, Margaret Thatcher's assertion that "There Is No Alternative" (TINA) to neoliberal economic solutions has dominated global discourse. This project challenges that claim by demonstrating a rich landscape of alternative, robust, and well-developed economic models.
At its core, this work posits that a "Relational Economy" is emerging from the current "Transactional Economy," manifesting under various names and forms worldwide. What comes next is not a single replacement, but a broad umbrella encompassing these diverse alternative systems. It's time to bid farewell to TINA.
We are currently operating within the "Transactional Economy," often termed 'Late Stage Capitalism.' This system is characterized by disconnection, extraction, and exploitation, with a linear design that makes it inherently unsustainable. Wealth creation is centered on transactions rather than exchanges of value, and individuals are prioritized over collectives.
However, humanity stands at an evolutionary inflection point, experiencing an unprecedented period of "creative destruction." Systems science and Indigenous worldviews both affirm that economies, like all organic life, operate in cycles, and evolution involves integrating the old to create the new.
This study identifies three key pathways in this economic evolution:
The prevailing NeoLiberal economic worldview, focused on disconnection, extraction, and exploitation. Linear and unsustainable, it centers on transactions and prioritizes individuals.
Values, infrastructure, and services aimed at transitioning humanity, particularly in energy and materials, to solve environmental externalities of capitalism. It's a bridge, but still holds transitional mindsets.
An emergent, eventually post-capitalist economy enabling economic sovereignty for individuals and collectives. It's rooted in a worldview of connection, re-enabled by the digital global oral culture. Expressions include the Creator Economy, Wellbeing Economy, Alternative Lifestyles Economy, and Indigenous Economy.
Select a "Comparison Aspect" from the dropdown to see how different relational economic models approach it:
| Economic Model | Value |
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Select an economic model to get a quick summary generated by the Gemini AI:
This study concludes that solving for capitalism's psycho-spiritual externalities will unlock significant community wealth creation. These externalities have created four "Blue Oceans" of opportunity, particularly for organizations seeking to align with the Relational Economy:
Signal: The PainDemic. Opportunity Space: Wellbeing Economy (Market Size: <\$5.6 Trillion in 2023). Focus on Community Growth Infrastructure and Community Care Ecosystems.
Signal: The Poly Perma Crisis. Opportunity Space: Refuge Economy (1.2 Billion Climate Migrants by 2050). Focus on Livelihood Infrastructure and Micro & Community Scale Mergers & Acquisitions.
Signal: The AI Revolution. Opportunity Space: Creator Economy (Market Size: \$250 Billion in 2023, with Sam Altman seeking \$7 Trillion AI Infrastructure Investment). Focus on Technological Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies.
Signal: Sociocultural Entropy. Opportunity Space: Indigenous Economy (Market Size: \$32 Billion in 2023, projected to \$100 Billion by 2030). Focus on Storytelling Infrastructure and New Media Ventures.
REIT, Lending (Member Mortgages, Loans), Tourism (cultural, wellbeing, remote working, sabbaticals, rest, transitions), Education & Training, Healthcare, Housing, Lifestyles & Neo-Nomads (Additions to Reserve), Storytelling, New Media, Interactive Entertainment & Creative Industries, Community, Caretaking & Loneliness, Acquisitions & Partnerships, Economic Substitutions, Lifestyle Enablement, Tech, AI and Telecommunications, Restoration, Mitigation & Adaptation, Net-Zero Economy (clean fuels/hydrogen, electrification, critical minerals, forestry, carbon management, regulatory efficiency), Cannabis, Psychedelics and (Traditional) Healing Technologies, Northern Community Infrastructure (Territories & Urban), Micro Entrepreneurship, Festivals & Events, Indigenous Economy & Entrepreneurship (Investing), Rights & Reconciliation (IBAs, UNDRIP, etc), Agriculture, Self-employment & Remote Working.
The evidence is robust and convincing: a post-capitalist future is emerging, filled with "Blue Oceans" of opportunity.
The scale that matters most is "networked-micro"; small, nimble, and flexible organizations will thrive, while large, rigid, and entrenched systems will struggle to adapt.
The most crucial capacities are those uniquely human—expressions of collective care. The "Transactional Economy" and its infrastructure should be seen as stranded assets, needing repurposing and regeneration, not growth.
The true "Blue Ocean" opportunity lies in building Communities of Care that invite everyone to participate in a culture and economy focused on being "Better, not just Bigger."
These opportunities exist today, irrespective of future technological advancements, and call for voluntary practice of new ways of being and doing to achieve "Prosperity For All People Of All Time."
This study was completed by Jenn McRae. Jenn is a neurocomplex strategist, writer, podcaster, and futurist exploring AI, culture, transformation & love ethics. Learn more about Jenn and these 'pathways to prosperity' on her Substack, f*ck i love you, or her weekly synthesis podcast, f*ck i loved that.