Transforming Towards Life-Centered Economies

CHAPTER 4

Stories, Narratives, and Memes: Foundations of Cultural Mythologies

The last chapter discussed a bit about how complexity and wickedness—wicked complexity or complex wickedness—characterize socioeconomic systems. I noted that achieving purposeful system change in such systems is difficult at best because of these characteristics. That said, one way in which systems do change is when the stories or narratives that describe what it means to be in that system also change. Changing the narrative allows people to change their mindset, perspective, or paradigm—how they frame and understanding the world, which in turn allows them to change attitudes, behaviors, and operating practices. This chapter focuses on the fundamentals of the power ...