A New Economic System: An Interview with the Founder of 7 Billion Presidents
This past week I had the opportunity to truly rethink economics during an interview with David, the founder of 7 Billion Presidents (7BP). 7BP sees capitalism as an economic system of the past. Instead, they aim to “build companies (and communities) where 100% of the profits are spent to stabilize the climate, restore ecosystems, and support social projects”. The organization is built off the simple idea that “we should build a common future to benefit everyone”. During the interview, we discussed the elaboration on this idea with everything from the start of the company, how it plans to evolve, and its potential interaction with the global south.
How Did it Start:
The company began with the thought of building a community where the profits go back into the community rather than going elsewhere. This then evolved to form the question “what if instead, all the profits went back to build a better life for everyone”. Instead of funding shareholders, 7BP aims to create environments where “individuals can work for themselves”. They call this the ‘giving economy’.
How Does It Work:
7 BP partners with different companies such as Bruut Beer for Mankind to reallocate profits. “79% of profits go towards installing renewable energy in the form of solar panels, 7% towards social projects, 7% towards the regeneration of nature projects, and 7% towards a 7BP residents community in a low-income country”. After hearing the bit about low-income countries, I of course had many questions, specifically regarding the ethics of further imposition of western economic influence in the Global South. To be honest it felt a bit neo-colonial-esqu.
The Plan for the Global South: “We want to empower communities all over the world to join and we give total control to the communities”
The allocation of 7% going towards a 7BP community in the global south made me feel uneasy. Additionally, having this interview right after studying Global Development Issues, I had many questions.
7BPls main perspective of this is that: “our happiness is interconnected, and we have a common future. I believe the happiness of humankind is connected to the level of happiness of every individual human being. Taking care of each other is human nature and is beneficial for ourselves.”
This seems like a utopian perspective, but how will this idealistic approach pan out
7BP will find promising communities and the communities will choose a project to work on
“A community builds an Airbnb for example”
Other communities can follow the same path and take the same steps to start their own ‘giving economy’
While I could see there was a general idea I wondered how this would work. Individuals in many developing countries do not have the resources to start their own sustainable communities. Whether it be technological resources to research what project to work on or time as a resource to dedicate to the initially non profitable project, these are luxuries many do not have. I could not visualize how this would truly work.
David elaborated using the example that “Kenya and Nigeria may have skipped a whole phase of technological implementation or process […] and are highly innovative”. He explained the innovative process is quite organic and that often 7BP gains new members and employees through this organic process. Communities may develop in this same organic manner.
Outtakes:
David’s project is truly rethinking economics. He clearly comes from a place of genuine kindness as he aims to create not only a better world for individuals but a more sustainable world for future generations. However, I identify two main issues.
The first is in regards to creating 7BP communities in a low-income country. Not one person on the 7BP board comes from a low-income country. While David has lived in low-income countries the lack of representation of the team makes me feel uneasy. The word that comes to mind is neocolonialism which is “economic imperialism, globalization, cultural imperialism and conditional aid to influence or control developing countries instead of the previous”. The pseudo-post-colonial rhetoric heard throughout the interview furthered this idea. While 7BP aims to allow these communities full choice and to develop autonomously, this logistically does not seem possible. The lack of technology in low-income countries, high startup costs, and ethics surrounding the project all pose problems.
Issue two is that this utopian world seems too idealistic. Of course, a world where the money goes to the workers completely gets invested in green projects, and further social movements create a beautiful picture. However, is this really possible? Capitalism dominates our everyday lives. The bottom-up approach of starting with those negatively impacted by capitalism is not targeting the necessary audience to foster substantial change. Relying heavily on ethical consumerism likely poses problems for 7BP's main audience and excludes groups such as students who cannot afford products with such a high cost. Even if products are ethically consumed, ultimately does it make a difference on such a large scale?
Nevertheless, when we have those who believe in change, change may come
How can students get involved?
I like many students, care about the environment and similarly to most Dutch students, care about beer. However, the current partner, Bruut Beer for Better Mankind, sells a single bottle for 2.69, that's almost four Heinikens. As elaborated earlier, it is not sustainable for the average University student to pay that much extra for something so often consumed. While there is currently no clear solution other than “with time and scaling up, the price will go down”, currently, students can get involved by: following @7billionpresidents on Instagram, check out the website: https://www.7billionpresidents.org/vision/ , or following them on LinkedIn at: 7 Billion Presidents
Also do not hesitate to reach out, as a rather new project, 7BP is always looking for new ideas and progressive thinkers.