Attending the introductory session for System Delta e.V. with Dr. Martin Oetting and Katharina Elshorst reaffirmed the immense potential of alternative economic models. The initiative belongs to a vital broader movement pushing back against a neoliberal system that drives us toward systemic collapse—standing alongside Christian Felber’s Economy for the Common Good (GWÖ), the Myzelium/CSX network led by Timo Wans and Dr. Hannah Heller, and the Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie. All of these draw upon the strong theoretical framework of foundational thinkers like Jason Hickel (Degrowth), Timothée Parrique, and Dr. Maja Göpel.
Yet alongside this promise lies a recurring structural flaw: many of these initiatives remain trapped in an academic bubble and inadvertently fall into top-down patterns. When initial discussions immediately center on creating or translating "educational materials," the second step is being taken before the first. Before attempting to educate the public, we must understand their daily realities. Single mothers, Ukrainian or Arabic-speaking refugees, and prekarized academics navigating Jobcenter systems simply lack the bandwidth for voluntary academic circles.
Furthermore, these macro concepts rarely reach local communities undergoing actual change. This gap was evident during a recent regional network meeting on structural transformation in Delitzsch: virtually no one there had ever heard of the GWÖ, Degrowth, or Myzelium.
This is precisely where UNO.TEAM steps in. Our mission is not to launch yet another theoretical think tank, but to build the missing bridge between the high-level goals of the Wellbeing Economy and the lived experiences of people on the ground:
