REIMAGINING THE
ECONOMY:
TOWARD A
HUMAN-CENTRIC
APPROACH
MARK ESPOSITO AND JOHAN ROOS
The classical economics of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries emphasized land,
trade, and merchant activity as the fundamental sources of economic value. In
the late 19th century, responding to broad the social transformation that was the
British Industrial Revolution, a new school of economic thinking redirected the
focus of production theory in economics toward an industrial model. In this
model—which became known as neoclassical economics—labor as a commodity
was paired with similarly inert capital as the two core factors of production. As
the neoclassical school gained prominence in the 20th century, it transformed
economics from a humanistic and philosophical discipline into one structured
around empirical tests of mathematically generated hypotheses. The ensuing pro-
liferation of mathematically based concepts, models, and theories had a signifi-
cant, if often subliminal, influence on leaders and decision-makers in both
private and public organizations. Over time, this process led to the sidelining of
human agency—not only in economic theory but in many practical contexts.1
Recent technological advances in the
digital, physical, and biological realms have
generated new forms of value creation that
have the potential to revolutionize eco-
nomic activity in ways as fundamental as
those of the Industrial Revolution. Ho-
wever, this next industrial revolution also
poses a risk of further sidelining human
agenzia, which in the process will exacer-
bate inequality and create new forms of ex-
clusion. The dramatic advances we are wit-
nessing daily thus raise difficult questions
about the role of human beings in the next
economy.2 As we navigate the ever more
complex and tech-driven world we live in,
the theories we have inherited from a prior
generation are sidelining human agency
and threatening to constrain the thinking
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of leaders and decision-makers in ways
that may be detrimental to humankind’s
long-term wellbeing.
In this essay, we propose a conceptual
way out of the trap of the Western indus-
trial model. We do this by juxtaposing the
industrial model against what we refer to
in this special issue as the human econ-
omy.
In recent years, a number of scholars
and practitioners have embraced the con-
cept of the human economy as an ap-
proach to economic activity that better
accounts for the myriad social, cultural,
and ecological dimensions of economic
life. Consider these diverse but related def-
initions of the human economy:
A diverse and complex domain of social
•
and economic relations, practices, and in-
stitutions that transcend the market and
other formal institutions embedded in
global value chains3
•
A form of economic activity that priori-
tizes social wellbeing and ecological sus-
tainability over maximizing profit4
An economy in which people meet their
•
material needs outside the framework of
the market5
A way of organizing economic activity
•
that puts human beings and their social
and cultural relations at the center and re-
sponds to the needs and aspirations of di-
verse communities6
Proponents of a human-centered
economy argue that it offers a more holis-
tic and inclusive approach to economic ac-
tivity than that offered by the industrial
model—one where the economic system
serves human needs rather than the other
way around. A human-centered economy
acknowledges the value of activities that
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Mark Esposito is Professor of Business and Economics at Hult International Business School,
where he directs the Futures Impact Lab. He also is Teaching Faculty at Harvard University’s Division
of Continuing Education and Affiliate Faculty at the Microeconomics of Competitiveness Program
at the Harvard Business School. He serves as Senior Advisor to the Strategy& group at PwC. Lui
is cofounder of Nexus FrontierTech, the Circular Economy Alliance, and Excellere. Esposito is a co-
author of The AI Republic, Understanding How the Future Unfolds, and The Emerging Economies
under the Dome of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Cambridge University Press). His next book, due
for release in summer 2023, is The Great Remobilization: Strategies and Designs for a Smarter Global
Future (CON Premere).
Johan Roos is is Professor and Chief Academic Officer at Hult International Business School. Lui
serves as a Senior Adviser to the Peter Drucker Society Europe, chairs the Scientific Council of the
Vienna Center for Management Innovation, and is an elected member of the Danish Academy of
Technical Sciences. He has led several business schools, co-invented the LEGO® Serious Play®
method, and co-founded the Imagination Lab Foundation. His research concerns how to increase
readiness for change, innovate strategy processes, and measure intellectual capital. Roos has pub-
lished many articles and books and contributes regularly to the public debate about innovation,
formazione scolastica, and research.
© 2023 Mark Esposito and Johan Roos
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Mark Esposito and Johan Roos
traditional economic indicators, such as
gross domestic product, do not easily or
readily capture.7
The approach we take in this essay fol-
lows in the intellectual tradition of Peter
Drucker. Throughout his long and illus-
trious career, Drucker argued that a
human-centered approach to management
is crucial to long-term organizational suc-
cess.8 We similarly argue that a human-
centered approach to the economy as a
whole should be founded on the centrality
of people. A tal fine, we offer three guid-
ing principles for a human-centered econ-
omy that suggest a way to develop a more
equitable, sustainable, and resilient society.
1. BEFRIEND ALGORITHMIC
LEADERSHIP BEFORE IT
MASTERS YOU.
While algorithmic leadership has its bene-
fits, we must also consider its potential lim-
itations and unintended consequences. It
should be viewed as a tool to enhance and
inform decision-making, not as a replace-
ment for human agency and leadership. It
is important to befriend algorithmic lead-
ership before it masters us, as we need to
be proactive in guiding the development
and implementation of new technologies
to align with our values and priorities.
As algorithms become increasingly so-
phisticated, they pose a risk that human
agency will be sidelined as leadership is re-
placed by decision-making machines.9
While it is acceptable to delegate labor to
macchine, delegating decision-making to
algorithms raises questions about the role
human leaders play in organizations and
governments.10 This development has a
number of far-reaching ethical implica-
zioni, especially regarding human well-
being.
To address these challenges, we must
consider how to integrate increasingly so-
phisticated and self-improving algorithms
into a human-centered economy. We must
view algorithms as tools that, piuttosto che
replacing human decision-makers, can en-
hance and inform decision-making. While
algorithms and robots may make more ef-
fective choices and produce more optimal
results than humans, we commit a severe
long-term error when we measure pro-
gress solely in terms of perceived near-
term gains economic efficiency.
One of the main problems with algo-
rithmic decision-making is the potential
for bias and the lack of human input.
While algorithms can process
large
amounts of data and identify patterns that
humans may miss, they are also prone to
perpetuating existing biases and inequal-
ities in the data. This occurs for several rea-
sons. Primo, algorithms are designed to
learn from historical data in which the bi-
ases and inequalities prevalent in the past
are necessarily present. If not consciously
addressed, this bias encoding causes the
errors of the past to be reflected in predic-
tions about the future.11 Second, algo-
rithms can inadvertently create feedback
loops that reinforce existing biases.12 Third,
most algorithms are “black boxes,” mean-
ing that humans do not easily understand
their internal workings and decision-mak-
ing processes. This makes identifying and
addressing specific algorithmic biases a
challenging tasks.13
Although algorithmic leadership may
offer clear benefits in terms of efficiency
and optimization, a human-centric view
requires us to take seriously the limitations
and unintended consequences of such an
approach. We must ensure that algorithms
are designed and implemented in ways that
prioritize human well-being. It thus is es-
sential to invest in the development of fair
and unbiased algorithms, and to ensure
transparency and accountability in their
deployment. This includes employing di-
verse training data, conducting regular au-
dits, and involving stakeholders in the
development and evaluation process.14 It
also is vital to consider the implications for
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Reimagining the Economy: Toward a Human-Centric Approach
power dynamics within organizations and
governments, and the potential for a loss
of human agency in the economy.15
In definitiva, we must recognize that al-
gorithms are a tool, not a replacement for
human agency and
leadership. In a
human-centered economy, we must work
together to ensure that technology aligns
with our values and priorities. Although
technology may strive to improve itself, we
should not rely on technology alone to im-
prove its performance against a value func-
tion or a policy. We instead must guide
technology and its implementation to align
with our cultural norms and values.16
2. GO BEYOND WESTERN-
CENTRIC ECONOMIC IDEAS
AND NARRATIVES.
Western ideas about the economy cannot
be generalized globally. Joseph Henrich’s
argument about the co-evolution of culture
and social institutions underscores the
need to recognize that Western economic
theories are vastly different from how the
vast majority of humans have thought
about themselves and their economies
throughout history. We should not take for
granted our individualism, conformity to
social norms, and reliance on abstract
thinking. We should instead embrace di-
verse perspectives and incorporate alter-
native economic models and practices that
align with different cultures and values.
As Henrich stated in his seminal book,
the way of thinking and working in the
WEIRD parts of the world—that is, IL
Western, educato, industrializzato, ricco,
and democratic nations—differs signifi-
cantly from the way the majority of the
world organizes and scales its societies.17
The psychological and social characteris-
tics associated with the WEIRD parts of
the planet have had a profound impact on
how humans think and behave, thereby
shaping many of the concepts, models,
theories, istituzioni, and practices we take
for granted.
The trouble with having such a narrow
perspective is that it limits our understand-
ing of what constitutes an economy. West-
ern economic activity has
focused
primarily on monetary transactions and
quantitative measures of economic growth.
Tuttavia, traditional economic practices in
many non-Western cultures prioritize
community wellbeing, sustainability, E
equitable distribution of resources. The fol-
lowing are examples of this:
•
In various African societies, the concept
of Ubuntu emphasizes the interconnect-
edness of humanity by promoting cooper-
ation, mutual support, collective progress,
and shared prosperity.18 Ubuntu fosters a
system in which collaboration and the af-
firmation of others take precedence over
individual gain.19
In Pacific Island cultures, the practice of
reciprocity and gift-giving establishes and
maintains social relationships while fos-
tering communal prosperity.20
The Andean concept of Ayni fosters bal-
ance between individuals contributing to
the common good and those receiving as-
sistance in return.21 It is deeply ingrained
in Andean culture and promotes mutual
support and shared responsibility.22
•
•
These ideals contrast with the Western
modello, which often prioritizes individual
profit and growth at the expense of com-
munities and the environment. By incor-
elements of non-Western
porating
economic practices such as those de-
scribed above, economic models could be
developed that are neither agency-free nor
amoral. This would enhance our under-
standing of how to create an economy that
is more centered around collective human
needs and the common good.
A human economy should recognize
the wealth of economic models and prac-
tices that exist worldwide, many of which
are rarely written about or debated. È
time to acknowledge that, while WEIRD
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Mark Esposito and Johan Roos
economic models have a dominant place
in narratives on what economies should
look like, they are clearly not the only way
of thinking and working, nor are they om-
nipresent.
3. DEVELOP PEOPLE-
CENTRIC PROCESSES AND
TASKS.
Creating a more human-centric economy
requires rethinking productive processes
and tasks around people rather than just
efficiency. As disruptions become more
frequent and anomalies arise, as seen in re-
cent global crises (pandemics, supply-
chain disruptions, and the war in Ukraine
notable among them), human assets will
be critical to decision-making. This means
blending digital humanism with empathy
and social intelligence to create a new
breed of leaders and a new imprint of in-
novation, one that makes human flourish-
ing a central goal. By prioritizing human
agenzia, we can ensure that emerging tech-
nologies will serve our needs and align
with our values rather than dominating
them. This requires a nuanced and contex-
tual understanding of the complex social,
cultural, and ethical considerations in-
volved.
For centuries, humans have lived
within an economic paradigm that has
sidelined, if not ignored, human agency in
favor of the immediate gains in efficiency
that are realizable through machine-cen-
tric production processes. Tuttavia, Questo
paradigm is increasingly out of step with
the complex world we live in, which has
led to dissatisfied people, high employee
turnover, and even burnout in the work-
force. Recent global crises, such as the
COVID-19 pandemic and the energy and
supply-chain crises, have highlighted the
need to reevaluate our economic models
and work systems. The “Great Resigna-
zione,” a phenomenon that emerged in the
US as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
was not just a phase of protest but a clear
signal that the human element must be at
the forefront of conversations about how
we create value. It is widely accepted that
intolerance, exclusion, and polarization
can negatively affect social cohesion and
collaboration, which ultimately hinders
productivity and economic growth for sig-
nificant portions of society.
To move toward a more human-cen-
tric economy, we must design jobs that
make use of humans’ unique ability to
make moral choices; to persuade and con-
vince; to be culturally sensitive, empa-
thetic, and globally agile; to imagine, intuit,
improvise, and more. In definitiva, a human-
centric economy must be based on princi-
ples that prioritize the dignity and value of
human agency over efficiency.
While advanced algorithms will un-
doubtedly play an increasingly important
role in economic value creation, it is essen-
tial that our future economic models,
theories, and practices recognize the im-
portance of concepts like reciprocity, mu-
tual support, cooperation, E
IL
common good. We can be inspired by
Peter Drucker’s reasoning that, in manage-
ment, the human dimension matters most
for the long-term success of the economy.
CONCLUSION
The development of a human-centric
economy requires a fundamental shift in
the way we think about and imagine the
creation of economic value. We must pri-
oritize the dignity and value of human
agency over efficiency, embrace diverse
perspectives and alternative economic
models and practices, and recognize the
importance of human assets in decision-
making.
This requires us to be proactive in
guiding the development and implemen-
tation of emerging technologies to align
with our values and priorities, while also
recognizing the limitations and unin-
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Reimagining the Economy: Toward a Human-Centric Approach
tended consequences of algorithmic lead-
ership. In definitiva, a human-centric econ-
omy must be designed to serve human
needs, rather than making humans subser-
vient to the economic system. Following
the principles we have outlined in this
essay would be a first step toward creating
an inclusive and sustainable economy, one
that promotes humans’ wellbeing and abil-
ity to flourish. Reimagining the economy
to take a more human-centric approach
will ultimately put us on a path toward a
more just and prosperous future for all.
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Mark Esposito and Johan Roos
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