Capitalism and Well-Being, Friends or Foes? How to Upgrade Capitalism for Human Flourishing

Goal

With our mental health being increasingly burdened, unfair inequality soaring and our ecosystem on the verge of collapse, human flourishing is severely under pressure. Unfortunately, we struggle to act sustainably. To promote sustainable behavior and eliminate systemic barriers to well-being, we require changes to the world's main socio-economic system, i.e. capitalism. The following question therefore arises: which traits of capitalism require change and how do we implement them? That question brings us to our first main goal: we want to research differences in capitalist systems both holistically and experimentally and identify their behavioral outcomes.
This leads to three additional goals. First, we want to catalyze interdisciplinary research in the social sciences working at the intersection of political science, behavioral and cognitive studies, psychology, and economics. Second, we want to develop research tools to nurture this type of interdisciplinary research, leading to a more robust scientific field. Finally, we want to identify transformational strategies which support policy makers to implement socio-economic policies designed for human flourishing more effectively.
This research closely aligns with the Templeton World Charity Foundation goals as it innovates and nurtures interdisciplinary research, exposes systemic barriers to our well-being as well as identifies levers to improve human flourishing.

Opportunity

The study of capitalism has a centuries-old tradition, mainly rooted in the field of sociology and political economy. Recently, scholars such as Piketty, Collier, Raworth or Zuboff have pinpointed flaws in our current capitalist design. None did so in a systematic or experimental way, nor did they holistically research the impact of capitalism on behavior and well-being. We can therefore develop a new interdisciplinary field which systematically researches economic traits of capitalism integrating theory from positive psychology and behavioral studies to research the impact of capitalism on well-being experimentally. By introducing behavioral experiments, this field innovates methodologically as well.

Roadblocks

We identify three challenges. The main challenge will be to present capitalism as an integrated system driving specific types of behavior, the system design itself being the independent variable: Although current research builds theory how to mitigate specific issues within our existing capitalist system, it does not research the system itself. A second and related roadblock is the lack of awareness about the monetary design underpinning capitalism and its behavioral impact. Very few, if any, studies about this presently exist. Finally, as with any interdisciplinary field, vested interests in the research community may hinder its development.

Breakthroughs Needed

The development of the initial theories and experimental studies will provide the first building blocks for the research field. To strengthen the field further, providing a research infrastructure will help to overcome the first two roadblocks. This infrastructure contains knowledge management support (e.g., curated literature repository, a detailed system design map, a dedicated web portal), open source behavioral research tools (e.g., Agent Based Modeling software) and operational support to execute and publish research (e.g., a submission/grant service).
To overcome the impact of vested interests, in the first phase we integrate theory from existing research fields. In a second phase we work together with domain specific research initiatives to accelerate uptake (e.g., partnerships with existing conferences). In the meantime we develop our own research community further, supported by best-of-class online community software, and driven by a pro-active outreach program.
These breakthroughs are possible as socio-economic challenges become more urgent and diverse. This will increase the need for systemic reform and corresponding scientific interest. Furthermore, we can build from existing capabilities: our organization has already developed a first research agenda and has capable people in our network. We have also developed open source tools and have extensive experience with scientific communications activities.

Key Indicators of Success

Three years
Number of scholars and research institutions part of the scientific community
Authority of journals publishing initial research
Number of scholars who use the research tools
Number of scholars who knowledge management support
Number of web portal visits
Five years
The above +
Number of citations of initial research
Number of research proposals that have been developed in the field
Amount of additional research funding requested/awarded
Ten years
The above +
Number of times research has been taken up into policy initiatives
Number of journal subscribers
Number of non EU/US research community members

Additional Information

About us
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Our organization is a non-profit Research & Development center for sustainable transformation, located in Leuven, Belgium. We have been working on well-being and sustainability for over 7 years. In that time, we have developed a descriptive model for human well-being, a new sustainable monetary design, a sustainable start-up process model and we are finalizing a new company model which incorporates sustainability.
The organization was founded by Bruno Delepierre, 39 and Stef Kuypers, 52. Bruno, a triple master in corporate law and business economics, MIT talent scout and part of the EU Innovation Council and Stef, software engineer, are both 'cognitive outliers'. Cognitive tests have put Bruno in the 1 in 100.000 bracket. Both are working on scientific research papers already and Stef is the lead designer of the agent based modeling software.
Current status
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Network - We can build from an international network of around 30 researchers with varying seniority levels across the EU to contribute to develop the field. Several software developers want to work together on the research tools.
Tools - We have self-funded the development of a tool to analyze monetary system stability, created an experimental game and are working with the European Social Fund in the development of agent based modeling software enabling us to simulate economic systems and corresponding behavior.
Research - We have executed an extensive interdisciplinary literature study regarding drivers of well-being and have developed a multi-year research agenda which includes an international comparative study and experimental validation of four treatments to realign capitalism with sustainability and well-being.
Community - Our organization has developed the TEDx community in Leuven, known as Europe's most innovative city in 2020, according to the European Commission. We are invited by the city to be the architect of the city's Circular Hub working with all city stakeholders to transform the entire local economy.
5 collaborators
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As indicated we have a network of around thirty scientists who are interested in collaborating. A selection of people could consist of:
Bruno Delepierre - PhD Student Behavioral economics, KU Leuven
Stef Kuypers - Independent Researcher, monetary systems
Wiepke Wissema - Postdoc Environmental economics - University of Wageningen
Georgina Gomez - Associate Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies - Rotterdam University
Lieven Annemans - Full Professor Health & Well-being economics - University of Ghent
Although we haven't engaged US researchers yet, scholars such as MIT Professors Kathleen Thelen, Professor of political science or Erik Brynjolfsson, Professor of digital economy, would be suitable.
References
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https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-25554-000
https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329219838932
dx.doi.org/10.3390/jrfm12020080
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1815663116
https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2016.1227954
https://emu-simulation.herokuapp.com/euro_supply_simulation_d (monetary simulation tool)

Our ask
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We are looking for an ethical partner who is willing to invest in truly fundamental research in the humanities. Because of its originality, the fundamental and the systemic nature of our type of research, we cannot access traditional areas of scientific funding, hence this application. Our goal is to build this field in close cooperation with KU Leuven, one of Europe's most innovative universities and MIT.