Societies exist and flourish because of a delicate balance that depends on a set of material and immaterial basics – language, shelter, food, security – shared and enjoyed by all their members. The provisioning of these social foundations is what we call the foundational economy.
Societies have developed similar cross-cultural views of what constitutes a social basic, and there are consistent historical patterns in how foundational economies have been organised. But ultimately, what is defined as a basic and how it is provisioned are socio-political questions that vary according to time and place. In whatever configuration, social basics matter economically, socially, and politically because they are the infrastructure of everyday life and the foundations of individual flourishing, social cohesion and political stability. As such, they should be seen as human rights.
Under the pressure of profit extraction, foundational economies have been disregarded and weakened over the past 50 years, as we see every day in the privatisation of public healthcare, the rising cost of on-market essentials such as rent, food, and utilities, and the degradation of land and waterways. The foundations that sustain our societies are crumbling, with painful consequences for millions across the world.
Although our journey into the foundational economy started with a strong interest in material foundations such as food or housing, we now reject any material-only or material-primary connotation attached to the notion of social basics. As we are (re)discovering in these difficult times, trust, solidarity, and empathy are just as important for society’s cohesion and flourishing.
We believe it is of great importance to find new ways to make foundational economies work again in every locality, region, and nation. We encourage pluralism because in an unstable world where the future is unpredictable, the more we know about the foundational economy under different scenarios and assumptions, the more instruments we have to deal with future challenges.
For further information about what the foundational economy is, why it is in crisis, and how we could rebuild it, see the reference list below for two introductions to current foundational thinking plus a couple of classic statements. Check here (foundational thinking section) and here (foundational practice section) for a deeper dive into more specific issues (liveability, ecological crisis, foundational betterment, etc.).
As an introduction to current foundational thinking:
- For an academic overview see the 2025 Foundational Economy entry on the Exploring Economics website
- For an action research approach see the 2025 Notes on Foundational Economy as Grey Skies Thinking on the Foundational Economy Research Limited web site
The classic statements in the original 2013 Manifesto and the Collective’s 2018 book remain relevant:
- The 2013 Manifesto for the Foundational Economy was how it all started
- The 2018 Foundational Economy book by the collective was originally published in English, German and Italian and subsequently translated into Portuguese and Turkish. You can download the introduction of the English second edition of 2022 here
The Foundational Economy 