Economics as Indigenous Knowledge
Note: Reframing suggested by David Witzel during his check-in on the OGM 2025-11-06 call.
The Quote
"We should think of it [economics] as Indigenous knowledge, probably"
The Reframe
Instead of:
- Rejecting traditional economics as foolish
- Dismissing economists
- Starting from scratch
Approach it as:
- Wisdom tradition with valuable insights
- Local knowledge from a particular culture
- Partial truth to be integrated with other traditions
- Context-dependent understanding
Why This Matters
Typical approach: "A lot of people kind of want to just throw it away and say economists are fools"
David's nuance: "There's a lot of wisdom in economics, too, so I wouldn't... I don't think we should toss it away"
Indigenous Knowledge Framework
Treating economics as indigenous knowledge means:
- Respecting its insights within context
- Understanding its assumptions and limitations
- Integrating with other knowledge systems
- Not universalizing its truths
- Learning from without colonizing by
Application
How to:
- Borrow from traditional economics framings
- Retrofit regenerative notions into them
- Integrate living systems thinking
- Create hybrid understandings
The Parallel
Just as:
- Indigenous knowledge systems have wisdom
- But aren't complete universal truths
- Need integration with other ways of knowing
So:
- Economics has wisdom
- But isn't complete universal truth
- Needs integration with living systems thinking
Related Concepts
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