Masterclass on the Multilevel Economic Paradigm
Building systems that align individual, organizational, and global wellbeing
The world’s overlapping crises reveal the limits of traditional economics. This masterclass offers a practical introduction to a new, multilevel paradigm for economics and public policy. Across seven interactive online sessions, participants will learn how to design institutions, organizations, and communities that function as adaptive, cooperative systems. The program connects researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and civil society to translate theory into real-world action plans shaping the next generation of economic thinking.
Led by: Dennis J. Snower (Global Solutions Initiative) & David Sloan Wilson (Prosocial World)
Start Date: 29 January 2026
Format: Seven weekly sessions (90 minutes each, with optional 30 min extra discussion)
Delivery: Online, interactive, multi-stakeholder
Purpose and Objectives
Multiple crises facing the world today have led to the realization that a new paradigm for economics and public policy is needed, not just a “nudging” of existing patterns of thought. We have articulated our vision of a new paradigm in a series of articles titled “Rethinking the Theoretical Foundation of Economics” and have already started to build a coalition around the new paradigm. We are offering a Masterclass as the next stage of development for the New Paradigm Coalition. It will provide an intensive introduction to the multilevel economic paradigm, translating leading-edge theory into practical tools for researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and civil society. Notably, the Masterclass is designed to engage whole organizations—not just individuals—and for the development of action plans to take place as part of the class.
- Research relevance: Equip researchers with conceptual and methodological tools for developing new economic approaches grounded in evolutionary and systems thinking.
- Policy relevance: Show policymakers how multilevel economics helps design institutions and incentives that align individual, group, national and global outcomes.
- Business relevance: Support corporate leaders in building governance and incentive systems that create long-term, multilevel value.
- Civil society relevance: Enable NGOs and grassroots groups to apply multilevel insights in projects that integrate local agency with broader systemic change.
Outputs
- Weekly participant reflections shared across the cohort.
- Group-produced policy and corporate briefs.Case-based country/sector diagnostics.
- A final “Way Forward” memo for G20, G7, and other international forums.
Format and Learning Design
Seven 90-min weekly sessions, with optional 30-min “after hours” continuation.
Three participant tracks (research, policy, business/civil society), each with tailored practical exercises, but joint plenary discussions for cross-fertilization.
Blended pedagogy: short research-dense lectures, small-group case labs, plenary synthesis.
Auxiliary deep-dive groups (optional): for developing real-world pilot projects.
Evaluation: Active research of worldview transformation, using surveys and AI-assisted language analysis.
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Syllabus and Weekly Plan
Week 1 — Introduction: What is a Paradigm?
Content: Understanding paradigms as containers for constructive disagreement; comparing neoclassical vs. multilevel economics.
Practice: Each participant identifies a paradigm challenge in their own domain (policy, research, corporate, NGO).
Output: 1-page reflection on paradigm relevance to personal/professional context.
Week 2 — Economics under Generalized Darwinism
Reading: Rethinking the Theoretical Foundation of Economics Article I
Content: Multilevel paradigm as integrative framework linking micro, meso, and macro economics. Contrast with neoclassical and pluralist approaches.
Practice: Group diagnostic: Where are current policies/strategies “single-level optimized” but multilevel misaligned
Output: Case notes shared with cohort.
Week 3 — Core Themes of the Multilevel Paradigm
Reading: Article II
Content: Functional organization, distributed agency, radical uncertainty, embeddedness.
Practice: Live case clinic (corporate / policy cases), using intervention design templates.
Output: Group slide summarizing intervention proposals.
Week 4 — The Workings of Functional Organization
Reading: Article III
Content: Internal mechanisms (psychology, norms, narratives) & external mechanisms (institutions, policies, regulations).
Practice: Policy lab: map internal vs. external mechanisms for one real-world challenge (e.g., climate finance, corporate governance).
Output: Short diagnostic maps.
Week 5 — The Embedded Economy in an Uncertain World
Reading: Article IV
Content: Embeddedness in political, social, and natural systems; radical uncertainty; theory pluralism; multilevel flourishing.
Practice: Simulation exercise — teams respond to an unexpected crisis (e.g., AI disruption, pandemic, energy shock) using multilevel tools.
Output: Group scenario response memo.
Week 6 — Putting the Multilevel Paradigm to Work
Reading: Article V
Content: Practical design principles for evolving complex adaptive systems (CAS1 vs. CAS2); examples of best practice “hiding in plain sight.”
Practice: Multi-track labs:Policy track → draft policy brief (2–3 pages).Business track → draft corporate governance playbook.Research/NGO track → draft applied research or pilot project proposal.
Output: Draft deliverables.
Week 7 — Conclusion and the Way Forward
Content: Extensions and applications of the paradigm; synthesis across tracks.
Practice: Public-facing roundtable with invited G20/G7/B20/C20 stakeholders.
Output: Final “Way Forward” Memo consolidating key findings and recommendations for international forums.
Engagement & Dissemination
Pre-course outreach: co-design with selected policymakers, corporates, and NGOs to ensure track relevance.
During course: structured liaisons translate insights into briefing packs for G20/G7/B20/C20 processes.
Post-course: participants offered to embed diagnostics + toolkits into pilot programs, supported by Prosocial World and GSI.
Sustainability
- Alumni network forms the nucleus of Multilevel Policy Labs.
- Maintain living toolkit + dashboard, aligned with GSI’s recoupling indicators, to allow replication by governments, firms, and NGOs.
- Periodic “sprint sessions” for alumni to refresh and update deliverables in sync with global policy cycles.
This syllabus sets up the masterclass as a bridge between high-level theory and real-world practice, producing outputs directly relevant to research agendas, corporate strategies, policy reforms, and international governance forums.