According to an opinion poll in Germany and Austria, nearly 90 per cent of the population want an “alternative economic order”. The “Common Welfare Economy” comprises the core elements of an alternative economic order and at the same time is open for cooperation and synergies with other alternatives. Our goal is to establish a legally binding framework, in which values oriented towards the common good can prosper. The author and political activist Christian Felber developed the basis for the Common Welfare Economy in his book Neue Werte für die Wirtschaft. Eine Alternative zu Kommunismus und Kapitalismus (New Values for the Economy. An Alternative to Communism and Capitalism) in 2008. In response to this publication, numerous entrepreneurs have come together in order to refine the model together with Christian Felber and have termed it “Common Welfare Economy”.

The Common Welfare Economy tends to be a form of market economy. However, the driving entrepreneurial motivation will shift from the pursuit of profit towards the pursuit of the common good and from competition to cooperation.

Recent research has shown that despite deeply rooted prejudices about human nature, these alternatives are naturally within us. Moreover: the Common Welfare Economy is fundamentally built upon those values that enable fulfilling interpersonal relationships: confidence building, responsibility, empathy, mutual support and cooperation.

Such humane and sustainable behaviour will be measured by means of a „Common Welfare Balance Sheet“ and awarded through numerous incentives and “systemic reinforcement”: market forces will be shifted towards ethical behaviour.

Today, the sole measure for entrepreneurial success is financial profit. In the Common Welfare Economy it is not just money that matters, but the Common Welfare Balance Sheet. That way, all humans and animals can thrive.

You can read about the process from its beginnings in October 2010 onwards here: A Brief History of the Common Welfare Economy – – and you can download a short summary of the 20 most important elements of the CWE.