Rich Burkmar

An economically curious ecologist

Category: blog


The posts in this section reflect my own thoughts and analysis, though they may be based on commentary on other peoples work.

  • Can we talk about work?

    You may remember a recent comment by Elon Musk, made to Rishi Sunak during a cringe-worthy staged chat, that Artificial Intelligence (AI) would soon mean that we will live in a world where no-one has to work. The comment sparked a debate (albeit a very brief one) on the nature of work. A typical example…

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    Can we talk about work?
  • Customise the Embedded Economy diagram

    The Embedded Economy (JPEG from the DEAL website) The Doughnut (JPEG from the DEAL website) The Embedded Economy model is central to the progressive economic theory laid out by Kate Raworth in her book Doughnut Economics. Kate Raworth is a systems thinker with a talent for communicating her ideas visually. But the diagram of the…

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    Customise the Embedded Economy diagram
  • “We need to stop thinking that economic growth will lift all boats”

    Do you remember a few years back in 2019 when the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights published a report that accused the Conservative government of presiding over a “systematic immiseration of a significant part of the British population”? Well the current incumbent of that position –  Olivier De Schutter – has been…

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    “We need to stop thinking that economic growth will lift all boats”