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Since the 2008 financial crisis, the capitalist order has been in an ongoing crisis, which has only worsened since the outbreak of the Covid. The greatest threat to the existing order is posed by the ecological climate, but it is also threatened by social, economic and political dangers . Due to the strengthening of monopolies and shareholders' primacy, we are witnessing the disconnection of the financial economy from the production economy, which creates extreme inequality, a working life that has no power to lift from poverty, the rise of authoritarian regimes, and more.

 

The study of economics in the last 40 + years was based on the belief markets are free, and endless growth is possible. People’s interactions with free markets was drawing heavily on abstract theory, mathematical models, and the assumption that people will act in rational self interest. BUT this worked only for the few. Unlimited growth in a system of limited resources, when growth is equal to increased resource use, cannot be sustainable.

 

This is what we call the Neoliberal economic model, which is based on profit maximization ideology.  Though it continues to be dominant among economists and politicians, questions  are raised by young generations if it is not possible to conduct society according to another model, a model that will consider all stakeholders and create a more decent and sustainable reality. 

 

Young people begin to understand this endless growth and maximizing profit for only a few, was wrapped for us with an ideology about freedom of property, individualism, prosperity to all, and human rationality. But in fact it created a distorted reality, whןאי massive environmental degradation; economic inequality; and governmental and democratic collapse. 

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The unlimited growth and profit maximization paradigme is realized strongly in the finance sector during the last decades. The current finance regime or Financialization (refers to the increase in size and importance of a financial sector activity relative to the rest of the economy), has  affected the economy also through its hegemony over the production activity (declining labour share, wealth inequality, and financial instability), resulted from speculative and manipulative economy. The hegemony of finance over the productive economy deserves special attention in its harm to workers, consumers, suppliers, communities, and the environment. But more than that, this hegemony, which claims scientific and objective laws, is incorrect.Markets are made of people, who are influenced by events, and the truth is that there are no fundamental laws in finance…

 

In many places in the world people understand that the only way out is to build resilient and creative alternatives to capitalism. These alternatives speak less of a socio-economic method such as responsible capitalism, welfare state or post-capitalism. They are more concerned with diverse micro-issues such as democratization of the workplace, employee participation in decision-making, minimum wage for all, replacing real estate market with models of public housing, building cooperative consumer communities, promoting solidarity and transparent pension funds. The main objective of this course is thus to obtain critical social and practical knowledge of this reality and these options 

 

A secondary objective of this course is to help designers better understand the business reality. Helping designers see their projects through the economic reality they are living in, may open up new opportunities for innovation.  Product design can be optimized also for the business (that is, be aware of market trends and segments, competition, correct finance forecasting and more), increasing the likelihood for the product  to be successful and the business to stay relevant in the ever increasingly competitive market

 

Indeed, today, design methodologies are delivering innovation, and being recognised as having value to business problems. Furthermore, information technology is revolutionizing the business landscape and new meta models are needed to be designed to interact through enormous data. The financial sector also wants to attract customers to use their products (interest, taxation, pension, credit), but does the financial sector want understanding, transparency or criticism of its products? 

 

The importance of this course:

 

This course aims to help stakeholders gain clarity of finance. Furthermore,it aims at developing sustainable finance opportunities and values for the market. The belief is that in leveraging the understanding of the solutions landscape, finansionaries, designers and the general public can be helped to provide transformational paradigm change to neo-liberal finance. 

A better understanding of a sustainable finance business model stands also to help  decision-makers create sustainable solutions that create more value for the public and not only for shareholders, reduce unsustainable production and consumption, and increase finance for a sustainable economy.   

 

On an academic level, this course aims to continue and build the existing theory in the three fields of product design, business models, and finance, as well as in the overlapping areas of these three fields, namely, sustainable finance, sustainable design, and business model design.  We believe that more courses and initiatives such as this one will strengthen the theory in these needed areas that make up the context of the problem that the IFI project addresses.