Global economies rooted in colonial legacies demand systemic reform: integrating indigenous, feminist, and non‑Western frameworks
Original framing: “Decolonizing economics means questioning where its ideas came from and imagining new ones” — Phys.org
Modern economic theory emerged from 18th‑century European mercantilism, colonial taxation, and the Industrial Revolution, all tied to imperial conquest. The persistence of concepts like ‘property rights’ and ‘market efficiency’ reflects a continuity of power that legitimized dispossession of colonized peoples. Recognizing this lineage reveals that current crises—inequality, debt, climate change—are not accidental but structurally inherited.
Decolonizing economics requires recognizing that the discipline’s core assumptions are products of colonial extraction, gendered labor hierarchies, and Eurocentric epistemology.
By weaving Indigenous stewardship, feminist critiques, and non‑Western relational logics into curricula, financial instruments, and policy metrics, we can dismantle the structural biases that perpetuate inequality and ecological degradation. Historical continuities show that alternative economies have existed for millennia, offering resilient templates that modern institutions can adapt. Empowering marginalized voices through transnational knowledge networks ensures that future modeling reflects diverse lived realities, while trickster insights keep the discourse open to radical re‑imagination. Together, these pathways reconfigure power, knowledge, and practice toward a truly pluriversal economic order.