The Commission on Reimagining Our Economy (CORE), launched by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in October 2021, seeks to advance an economy that puts people first. This crosspartisan, interdisciplinary Commission rethinks the principles, metrics, narratives, and policies that shape the nation’s political economy, directing focus onto how Americans are doing rather than just how the economy is doing—elevating the human stakes of economic and political systems. The Commission comprises scholars, journalists, artists, and leaders from business, faith, labor, and philanthropic communities, developing recommendations through listening sessions, data collection, photojournalism, and cross-partisan dialogue. In addition to recommendations, CORE released a metric dashboard offering county-level measurements of well-being that account for factors like political voice typically excluded from standard economic indicators.
Why it matters: It challenges the conventional separation between economic performance and human flourishing, recognizing that economic conditions influence public faith in government, political participation, and civic engagement. By assembling cross-partisan, interdisciplinary leadership—scholars alongside artists, business leaders alongside faith and labor representatives—CORE considers well-being more broadly than customary economic discussions allow. The county-level dashboard measuring factors beyond standard economic indicators provides tools for communities to assess their own conditions, while bold, achievable recommendations advance practices and policies enabling opportunity, mobility, and sufficiency for all, guided by values of security, opportunity, and democracy.
