Politics & Governance / Public Policy / Environmental & Climate Policy

The GDP Lie: Why We Need a Natural Social Contract Now

Towards a Natural Social Contract

Patrick Huntjens

Slide 1 GDP goes up, yet everyone feels more burned out and insecure than ever. Here is the cold truth: traditional economic growth is cannibalizing our real well-being. Slide 2 We crossed four out of nine planetary life-support boundaries. Treating nature like a free dumping ground has officially hit a dead end. Slide 3 The old social contract is broken. It promised that greed and endless consumption would buy happiness. Instead, it delivered climate chaos and deep inequality. Slide 4 Stop thinking like a mindless consumer. It is time to evolve into guardians of the living world. We do not just need to pollute less; we need to actively regenerate what we broke. Slide 5 Real prosperity is clean water, living soil, and resilient communities. The rules of the game are shifting right now. Time to sign a new contract with the living Earth. About the Author: Patrick Huntjens is an acclaimed scholar and professor in environmental governance and social-ecological innovation. About the Book: Towards a Natural Social Contract outlines a revolutionary roadmap to abandon blind economic expansion and rebuild a fair, regenerative society inside planetary limits.