大象传媒

Dear Reader, 

I was an economics major in college. When I was taught that economies had to keep growing or face a spiraling collapse, I had questions. Under capitalism, economic success demands growth in production and consumption, but the laws of nature say that matter can鈥檛 be created or destroyed. This gap in logic nagged at me, but growth鈥檚 allure remained strong. I went on to get my MBA, and my first 鈥渞eal鈥� job with a dot-com startup in the mid 鈥�90s operated under that growth mindset鈥攚e wanted to go public, get acquired, cash out, and get rich. After we鈥檇 secured a round of venture capital, I remember the founders ordering a celebratory cake, with garish icing declaring our mantra, 鈥淕BF.鈥� Get Big Fast.

But the nagging thoughts persisted. Reading Beyond the Limits by Dennis and Donella Meadows and J酶rgen Randers confirmed my suspicion that economic growth only 鈥渨orks鈥� in the short term. Long-term, it鈥檚 simply not sustainable. This was the beginning of my search for economic models that made more sense, including localization, cradle to cradle, steady state, circular economies, biomimicry, and donut economics. Most of these models rely on the idea that healthy economies mimic healthy ecosystems鈥攍ots of diverse players performing only necessary functions, with no single player so big as to dominate the system. Any 鈥渨aste鈥� is actually an important input to another process in the larger system. In theory, these models are elegant and resilient, with each player bolstered by a dense pattern of symbiotic relationships. 

But I confess, the cultural narratives in the United States about the growth imperative run deep. I feel it even in stewarding the organization of 大象传媒 Because our mission is essential and urgent, my instinct tells me we must grow鈥攅xpand our audience, our donors, our staff, expand our impact. But what if we didn鈥檛? What if, instead, we intentionally participated as part of an ecosystem of values-aligned media and movement networks, each individual organization playing a necessary function, working symbiotically with many others to transform our society? What if those connections were much more visible and purposeful? These are the questions we鈥檙e excited to explore as we reconsider what it means to grow鈥攂oth within and beyond 大象传媒 

In community, 
Christine

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Christine Hanna is the executive director of 大象传媒 Media. She is a founder and former co-director of the Seattle Good Business Network.

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