The care economy 2.0
A guide for the peaceful and rapid transition of the economy
Our capitalist economy follows a simple but destructive cycle:
The struggle for higher wages and rising prices alternate periodically. But if wages are to rise, more must be produced. And everything that is produced must also be consumed again. This is the spiral of growth that destroys the environment, divides society and creates ever greater inequality.
Our justified demands for better wages and secure social benefits unintentionally drive this spiral forward.
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What does the state do when people no longer buy enough cars? It buys tanks and warships on credit. All it needs is an enemy, and then billions flow. And suddenly wages and social benefits are secure for the next few months. But this means we are living on a powder keg.
Is there any alternative in sight?
The system is powerful and stable; it can only be overcome by cunning – just as David was able to defeat the far superior Goliath.
There are two ancient laws that have been forgotten:
1. The earth’s raw materials and the sun’s energy are gifts of creation.
Proof: We do not have to pay the sun and the earth for them.
2. Much of human work is unpaid.
Proof: childbirth, raising children, caring for one another – without these, there would be no society. This care work is even more extensive than paid production.
If we combine both laws, wages, the main cause of destructive growth, could be eliminated.
Because if free natural resources are processed with free labour, the products are also free, i.e. available at no cost. So if we were to work unpaid in the economy as well as in the care sector, the gifts of creation would remain free of charge. Just like the food that is on the table every day in every family around the world.
Nothing would need to be bought anymore, so we would no longer need wages at all.
This transition to free labour is actually a rather symbolic process. It does not require any laws or political preparations, nor does it require the economy to be restructured. We would only have to refuse our wages worldwide, in solidarity and at the same time, so that no more costs are incurred in the economy. That would be David’s ruse, with which we could defeat the mighty ‘Goliath’.
Such a transition is now objectively possible for the first time in history. All the technical prerequisites, including global networking, are in place.
The changes would then happen by themselves. The economy would then function in the same way as the care sector, only what is needed would be produced and there would be no more artificial abundance. This would bring climate targets within reach and put an end to the waste of raw materials.
No one would then be cut off from essential things, there would be no more rich and poor, and gender inequality would be eliminated.
This can happen peacefully and quickly. We just need to spread this message around the world as quickly as possible so that everyone can discuss it.
And then we simply agree on a day from which all people on the entire planet refuse to work. Perhaps as early as 1 May 2027?
This day will be a great celebration, on which we will be given everything we need for a happy and contented life. It will be a celebration like Easter, Christmas or a birthday, with the difference that this state of affairs will be permanent.
This festive atmosphere will ensure that the transition is successful.
Many representatives of the post-growth economy or the commons movement are thinking about how the economy would have to change in order to become sustainable. But we know that it cannot be actively changed.
However, it will develop sustainably on its own as soon as it is based on voluntary work, such as care work. Then the only thing that will count is what serves people and the Earth.
Precise planning is not possible because, in today’s stimulus-saturated society, we hardly know what a life of dignity really looks like. But we do know that there is no longer any need for advertising or calls for more consumption – because no one has any interest in giving away more than necessary. Consumption will therefore decline significantly.
The technical conditions for this change have only been in place for a few years. That is why we no longer need the money-based market. Thanks to the internet, we can communicate our current needs to production in real time. A democratically controlled AI finds the right producers.
Today’s production structures are flexible enough to respond to a decline in demand without causing disruption. When less is produced, people simply spend more time looking after their children, friends or other tasks in civil society.
When we receive everything as a gift, we also feel responsible for taking on unpleasant tasks from time to time. Solidarity is much stronger in a non-capitalist society.
Many who only know capitalism can hardly imagine this today. But I myself lived in such a country for a long time and saw it with my own eyes. You can believe me.
And what will happen to the people in banks, insurance companies or tax offices?
They are free! They, too, are part of the great celebration of giving and receiving gifts, and they will want to return the favour by helping where there is still a lot of work to be done.
Tax offices? We no longer need them, because everyone – teachers, firefighters, university employees, artists and cultural workers – is provided for free of charge. No one is excluded.
When work no longer costs anything, it doesn’t matter how long something takes. Products can be developed in such a way that they can be easily recycled at the end of their useful life. This creates a genuine circular economy – and market allocation becomes obsolete.
This book aims to show that it is possible to overcome capitalist production relations on one time. But it is important that this is discussed worldwide.
It also aims to encourage us to put ourselves in the shoes of such a post-capitalist society in order to understand it. If we really want to overcome capitalism, we must be able to let go.
Why the name Benharmonia?
How can we look forward to something that has no name? There are many terms for post-capitalist societies, but they are either tongue twisters or burdened by history.
‘Benharmonia’ – a combination of good and harmonious – comes from Latin and is understandable in many cultures.
Let’s look forward to it!
More information on this can be found in the free PDF book ‘Care Economy 2.0’: https://LetUsBe.One/de2/Care-economy_mobil.pdf
I would very much like these ideas to be the subject of a broad discussion and ask that you share this appeal.
Berlin, 10 November 2025 Eberhard Licht