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Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity
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Type: Team Page

  • James Fotherby
    James Fotherby

    James Fotherby

  • Megan Cumming
    CUSP network

    Megan Cumming

  • Amy Isham
    Amy Isham

    Amy Isham

  • Amy Burnett
    Amy Burnett

    Amy Burnett

  • Dario Leoni
    Dario Leoni

    Dario Leoni

  • Mark Banks
    Mark Banks

    Mark Banks

  • Mojgan Chapariha
    Mojgan Chapariha

    Mojgan Chapariha

  • Patrick Elf
    Patrick Elf

    Patrick Elf

  • Shimaa Elkomy
    Shimaa Elkomy

    Shimaa Elkomy

  • Olivier Malay
    Olivier Malay

    Olivier Malay

  • Kate Prendergast
    Kate Prendergast

    Kate Prendergast

  • Emily Westwell
    Emily Westwell

    Emily Westwell

  • Theresia Harrer
    Theresia Harrer

    Theresia Harrer

  • Brian Doherty
    Brian Doherty

    Brian Doherty

  • Andrew Jackson
    Andrew Jackson

    Andrew Jackson

  • Ben Gallant
    Ben Gallant

    Ben Gallant

  • Christine Corlet Walker
    Christine Corlet Walker

    Christine Corlet Walker

  • Mehedi Hasan
    Mehedi M. Hasan

    Mehedi Hasan

  • Rosie West
    Rosie West

    Rosie West

  • Alise Kirtley
    Alise Kirtley

    Alise Kirtley

  • Adeyemi Adelekan
    Adeyemi Adelekan

    Adeyemi Adelekan

  • Malaika Cunningham
    Malaika Cunningham

    Malaika Cunningham

  • Catherine Hunt

    Catherine Hunt

  • Rachel Solomon Williams
    CUSP network

    Rachel Solomon Williams

  • Agni Dikaiou
    Agni Dikaiou

    Agni Dikaiou

  • Anastasia Loukianov
    Anastasia Loukianov

    Anastasia Loukianov

  • Geraldine Brennan
    Geraldine Brennan

    Geraldine Brennan

  • Mollie Wilson
    Mollie Wilson

    Mollie Wilson

  • Nick Taylor
    Nick Taylor

    Nick Taylor

  • Mark Ball
    Mark Ball

    Mark Ball

  • Robyn Owen
    Robyn Owen

    Robyn Owen

  • Peter Victor
    Peter A Victor

    Peter Victor

  • Marit Hammond
    Marit Hammond

    Marit Hammond

  • Joanna Masangkay
    Joanna Masangkay

    Joanna Masangkay

  • Philip Catney
    Phil Catney

    Philip Catney

  • Linda Geßner

    Linda Geßner

  • Simon Mair
    Simon Mair

    Simon Mair

  • Aled Jones
    Aled Jones

    Aled Jones

  • Bronwyn Hayward
    Bronwyn Hayward

    Bronwyn Hayward

  • Birgitta Gatersleben
    Birgitta Gatersleben

    Birgitta Gatersleben

  • Susan Venn
    Sue Venn

    Susan Venn

  • Ian Vickers
    Ian Vickers

    Ian Vickers

  • Ian Christie
    Ian Christie

    Ian Christie

  • Gemma Birkett

    Gemma Birkett

  • Angela Druckman
    Angela Druckman

    Angela Druckman

  • Kate Burningham
    Kate Burningham

    Kate Burningham

  • Will Davies
    Will Davies

    Will Davies

  • Fergus Lyon
    Fergus Lyon

    Fergus Lyon

  • Tim Jackson
    Tim Jackson

    Tim Jackson

About

The Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) is a cutting-edge research organisation core-funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and the Laudes Foundation. It takes the form of a rich international network, drawing together expert partners from academic and non-academic institutions as co-producers of the work programme. The overall research question is: What can prosperity possibly mean in a world of environmental, social and economic limits?—We work with people, policy and business to address this question, developing pragmatic steps towards a shared and lasting prosperity.

Contact

Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity
University of Surrey
Guildford GU2 7XH

Email: info@cusp.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1483 684316

 

Newsletter

A list of past newsletters can be found on the publications page. For future editions, please subscribe via Sender.net.

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Rates of anxiety disorders have increased sharply
Rates of anxiety disorders have increased sharply in the 21st century, sparking debate about their causes. Yet sociology, despite its long-standing interest in mental distress, has said little about this particular “epidemic.”⁠
⁠
By contrast, the rise of depression and antidepressants in the 1980s has often been understood as a neoliberal condition—one shaped by broader social and economic forces. Anxiety, however, is frequently blurred into this story, treated as if it were the same.⁠
⁠
This article argues for taking anxiety seriously as a distinct social phenomenon. It traces how anxiety was once understood through existentialist and psychoanalytic thought, and how these perspectives were later marginalised by medicalised psychiatry. Finally, it explores whether new sociological approaches—particularly the sociology of assets and assetisation — might help explain the current landscape of anxiety.⁠
⁠
📖 Full paper via cusp.ac.uk⁠/publications⁠
🔗 Link in bio⁠
⁠
—⁠
cc #anxiety #sociology #mentalhealth #neoliberalism #criticaltheory #psychoanalysis #existentialism #assetization #socialchange #publicsociology #careeconomy ⁠
⁠
Image: (CC-BY-ND 2.0) courtesy of Franck Vervial / Flickr


"In much of [our] talking, thinking is half murder
"In much of [our] talking, thinking is half murdered. For thought is a bird of space, tat in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly."—Kahlil Gibran, 1923⁠
⁠
__⁠
#QuoteOfTheDay #KahlilGibran #OnTalking #TheProphet #Wisdom #CriticalThinking #Mindfulness #PhilosophicalQuotes #IntellectualHistory


🎙️Corporate Bodies: New podcast series about
🎙️Corporate Bodies: New podcast series about the strange world of #work.⁠
⁠
Episode 3—Creating the Body | What happens when you accept an employment contract? What are the unspoken and unexamined things that happen when a new person is recruited into an organisation? In this third episode of Corporate Bodies, Mark Walton and Kate Swade explore the feudal history of employment contracting, and how that plays out in working cultures today. ⁠
⁠
Full episode via ➡️ cusp.ac.uk or wherever you get your podcasts from (🔝 or follow link in bio).⁠
⁠
A B O U T⁠
⁠
Kate and Mark are joined by @liambarringtonbush, the founder of @radHRorg, to explore the challenges and dangers of not looking closely enough at how we welcome new people into companies. In a wide ranging conversation, they cover the problems with traditional recruitment processes, the optimum size of organisations, and the “exponential complexity” of bringing new people into a team.⁠
⁠
They talk about the impact of practices from social movement spaces becoming more mainstream, and it’s important to consider power when thinking about new ways of working. The conversation includes some practical steps organisations can take today as well as some larger and more challenging provocations. ⁠
⁠
—⁠
cc #CorporateBodiesPodcast #WorkplaceCulture #Podcast #OrganisationalDevelopment #NewPodcast #NewEconomics #SustainableBusiness #AlternativeBusiness #SocialEnterprise #SocEnt #wellbeingeconomy #TheCareEconomy @wellbeingeconomyalliance @sharedassets⁠
⁠
Corporate Bodies is a production by Mark Walton and Kate Swade, edited by @_katierevell. Artwork by @hanorbb. Supported by @CUSP_uk.⁠


New research from Oxford and CUSP analysed 14,000+
New research from Oxford and CUSP analysed 14,000+ care homes across England—and found a clear pattern: for-profit homes deliver better care when more residents pay privately.⁠
⁠
In contrast, public and not-for-profit homes offer more consistent quality regardless of how care is funded—often outperforming for-profits when no self-funders are present.⁠
⁠
These findings raise serious equity concerns. If quality depends on ability to pay, then wealthier areas may be getting better care—deepening inequalities in the social care system.⁠
⁠
📄 Full study via cusp.ac.uk⁠
🔗 Link in bio⁠
⁠
__⁠
cc #SocialCare #CareInequality #HealthEquity #AdultSocialCare #CareHomes #ResidentialCare #Inequality #PublicPolicy #CarelessEconomy #CareEconomy #SustainableWelfare #WelfareJustice⁠
#SocialPolicy #PublicHealthResearch


“We’ve built an economy that profits from maki
“We’ve built an economy that profits from making us sick—and calls it progress.” ⁠
⁠
In this episode of Cities 1.5, economist and author @ProfTimJackson joins former Mayor of Toronto, David Miller, to challenge the foundations of our growth-obsessed system. ⁠
⁠
He asks:⁠
→ What if prosperity meant balance, not more?⁠
→ What if care—not consumption—defined economic success?⁠
⁠
Drawing from his new book #TheCareEconomy, Tim explains how we’ve normalised chronic illness, environmental degradation, war and inequality by prioritising GDP over wellbeing. He shares a bold vision of an economy rooted in health, care, and human dignity—and how cities can lead this shift.⁠
⁠
🧠 “Health is balance. Care is the attention we give to restore that balance. Capitalism disrupts that—because care takes time.”⁠
⁠
🎧 The full podcast is available via the University of Toronto Press website, and can be found on the usual podcast platforms.⁠
⁠
🔗 Link in bio.⁠
⁠
___⁠
cc #CareEconomy #PostGrowth #WellbeingEconomy #ProsperityWithoutGrowth #LifeAfterCapitalism #Degrowth #BeyondGrowth #PostWachstum #ÖkonomieDerFürsorge #WohlstandOhneWachstum #Postcroissance #Decroissance #decrecimiento #HealthEconomics #Medicalisation #OverMedicalisation #Financialisation #Naturopathy #healingpowerofnature #Care #Cure #PhilosophyOfCare #RethinkingProsperity @sociologysurrey HT @utpress ⁠
@c40cities cc @wellbeingeconomyalliance @politybooks ⁠@oekomverlag⁠ @ffc_commission⁠


“Care is the foundation for life itself. But in
“Care is the foundation for life itself. But in the market, it’s treated as a second-class citizen.”⁠
⁠
In his new book »The Care Economy« CUSP director and renowned ecological economist @ProfTimJackson offers a timely and deeply personal manifesto for a more humane future—one where care is central, not sidelined. From the rising burden of chronic disease to the gender politics of care, this book confronts the structural violence baked into our pursuit of growth at all costs.⁠
⁠
💡 What if we designed our economy to heal—not harm?⁠
⁠
Irreverent, insightful, and boldly hopeful, #TheCareEconomy is now available in the US and globally.⁠
⁠
Further details and discount code for the English edition via ➡️ the-care-economy.com⁠
⁠
🔗 Link in bio⁠
⁠
___⁠
cc #PostGrowth #ProsperityWithoutGrowth #HumanRights #BeyondGrowth #Degrowth #ÖkonomieDerFürsorge #WellbeingEconomy #CareEconomy⁠
#Postwachstum #PostCroissance #Omgroei #PostCrecimiento #LifeAfterCapitalism #Decroissance #Decrecimiento #SystemChange #BigFood #BigPharma #HolisticMedicine #EcologicalEconomics #RethinkingEconomics #NewEconomics #GrowthDependency #RethinkingProsperity #PostConsumerism #DoughnutEconomics #SustainableWelfare cc @politybooks @wellbeingeconomyalliance @sociologysurrey @institutesustainability


"Totalitarian politics … use and abuse their own
"Totalitarian politics ... use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of factual reality, from which the ideologies originally derived their strength and their propaganda value ... have all but disappeared."—Hannah Arendt, 1967⁠
__ ⁠
#QuoteOfTheDay #HannahArendt #CriticalThinking #Totalitarianism #TheOriginsOfTotalitarianism #TheLifeOfTheMind #BanalityOfEvil #MenInDarkTimes #Wisdom #Reflection #HumanCivilisation #Humanity #HumanRights #Politics #Peace #Futures


🎙️Corporate Bodies: Podcast series about the
🎙️Corporate Bodies: Podcast series about the strange world of #work.⁠
⁠
Episode 2—The head and brain | How do decisions get made in an organisation? Who has power and control—and are they the same people who bear the consequences of their decisions? In this second episode of Corporate Bodies, we explore governance and limited liability—a form of legal protection for shareholders and owners of companies that prevents individuals from being held personally responsible for their company's debts or financial losses.⁠
⁠
Full episode via ➡️ cusp.ac.uk or wherever you get your podcasts from (🔝 or follow link in bio).⁠
⁠
A B O U T⁠
⁠
Limited liability is something Kate and Mark previously identified as one of the “original sins” that impacts the way we run companies today. Here, they talk about their own experience of how power shifted at Shared Assets in a moment of crisis. ⁠
⁠
They also interview Sarah McAdam, a Co-Steward at the Transformational Governance Collective, who talks about how we can take a much wider view of governance, what healthy power looks like, how we can distribute power more widely in organisations, and whether we should be able to consent to giving and receiving power. ⁠
⁠
—⁠
cc #CorporateBodiesPodcast #WorkplaceCulture #Podcast #OrganisationalDevelopment #NewEconomics #SustainableBusiness #AlternativeBusiness #SocialEnterprise #SocEnt #wellbeingeconomy #TheCareEconomy @sharedassets⁠
⁠
Corporate Bodies is a production by Mark Walton and Kate Swade, edited by @_katierevell. Artwork by @hanorbb. Supported by @CUSP_uk.⁠


📣 It’s time to stop chasing growth for growth
📣 It’s time to stop chasing growth for growth’s sake.⁠
⁠
In his latest article for the New Statesman, CUSP co-director @ProfTimJackson lays it out plainly: calling for growth is not the same as delivering it—and more importantly, it’s not the same as building a liveable society for all.⁠
⁠
Decades of GDP obsession have failed to deliver meaningful progress for people or the planet. We urgently need to move beyond the broken logic of expansion-at-all-costs and start designing an economy that places care and human dignity at its centre.⁠
⁠
An economy that understands health not as a commodity, but as a balance. That sees care not as a cost, but as the foundation of a just and resilient society.⁠
⁠
📖 Read the article:⁠
newstatesman.com/spotlight/economic-growth/2025/03/calling-for-growth-is-not-the-same-as-delivering-it⁠
🔗 Link in bio⁠
⁠
—⁠
#PostGrowth #TimJackson #BeyondGrowth #WellbeingEconomy #EcologicalEconomics #CareEconomy #SystemChange #NewStatesman #PolicyReform #EndOfGDP #ReimagineEconomics #TheCareEconomy #ProsperityWithoutGrowth #WohlstandOhneWachstum #ÖkonomieDerFürsorge #Degrowth


Parliamentary Work

APPG Logo
CUSP is acting as the secretariat for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Limits to Growth. The APPG provides a platform for cross-party dialogue and collaboration on shared and lasting prosperity in a world of environmental, social and economic limits. It aims to contribute to a growing international debate on redefining prosperity and developing new measures of progress. The APPG is chaired by Caroline Lucas MP and Clive Lewis MP, and its membership is drawn from both Houses and all main political parties.

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