01432nas a2200109   4500008004100000245006100041210006100102260001200163520105900175100001901234856006901253       2014                        eng d00aRethinking the Role of the Economy and Financial Markets0 aRethinking the Role of the Economy and Financial Markets  aLeipzig3 aABSTRACT The financial crisis is as much a crisis of economics as of the financial system. Inherent flaws in the modern monetary system overlay and magnify conceptual flaws in prevailing neo-liberal economic policy that rely on frameworks ill-suited to the current context of ecological and social problems. Our response therefore needs to address both the reform of the financial system and a fundamental reframing of economic policy away from an obsession with growth in GDP towards a focus on achieving high human well-being and social justice in harmony with ecological systems. Economic theory should better account for the laws of thermodynamics. Production should be redirected to maximize resource, not labour, efficiency, and to provide good jobs. Consumption should not be used as a proxy for well-being. Such an economic transition will not be possible without a more diverse money system, which is no longer dependent on growth, interest and debt. KEY WORDS: De-growth, financial crises, ecological economics, monetary reform, credit creation1 aGreenham, Tony  uhttps://degrowth.community/conference2014/scientific-papers/3798