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Who & what are our economies designed to serve?
What is the headline GDP figure. What is next year’s growth forecast. These questions often dominate how we talk about progress. We are taught that expanding the economy creates jobs and prosperity, and this narrative is repeated throughout our public discourse. Yet it is worth pausing to ask whether wellbeing can be reduced to growth alone.
Within a single lifetime, humanity has gained the power to alter the Earth’s life support systems—its climate, biodiversity, oceans, and the fragile web that sustains all societies and economies. The science is clear: continuing with business as usual risks pushing these systems toward dangerous instability and irreversible tipping points.
A wellbeing economy offers a different compass. It is designed to:
Centre human and planetary needs, ensuring everyone's essentials are met by design
Restore and protect the natural world for future generations
Strengthen the voice and agency of workers and citizens through participatory and inclusive governance
It invites us to imagine an economy where people and nature flourish together by intention, not by accident.
What does this mean for us as Singaporeans?
Singapore is one of the world’s most prosperous nations. In 2025, we ranked second globally in GDP per capita, and our carbon emissions per person were more than twice the global average. If everyone lived like the average Singaporean, humanity would need about 3.75 Earths. These numbers invite us to reflect on what they mean for our shared future.
Our geography has shielded us from many climate extremes faced by our Southeast Asian neighbours. We enjoy relative geopolitical stability and have been buffered from the harshest global disruptions. Yet beneath this stability, many Singaporeans—students, workers, families, businesses, retirees, both local and migrant—are feeling growing pressures.
Rising living costs, mental‑health strains, loneliness, housing challenges, job insecurity, widening inequality outside high‑tech and high‑finance, rapid AI disruption, intense academic competition, the influx of foreign capital reshaping business and the loss of heritage businesses and local brands. These concerns are real, and they are shared.
The idea of a wellbeing economy is not foreign to us. It is woven into the very pledge we recited as children—our commitment to happiness, prosperity, and progress for our nation. Perhaps the moment has come to revisit what these words can mean for a new era.
A wellbeing economy calls us to focus on:
Progress beyond GDP and material expansion
Diverse pathways for every Singaporean to flourish
Strong, resilient cultures and communities
Greater citizen voice through shared governance, democratic and collective ownership
The essential role of care in sustaining our society
A renewed spirit of "We First", placing the collective good at the centre
This is why weALL SG exists: to Advocate, Build and Catalyse a movement that helps our society take this next step together.
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