Ecologies of Flourishing: Multidimensional Value, Plural Prosperities, and the Rise of Post-Extractive Development

This article develops a comprehensive theoretical and empirical exploration of post-extractive development as a new paradigm for twenty-first-century societies, particularly in the Global South. Contemporary economic models remain anchored in extractive logics, linear industrial thinking, and indicators such as GDP that inadequately reflect ecological, relational, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. Drawing from recent scholarship in ecological economics, political anthropology, resilience studies, and post-growth transitions (Hickel, 2020–2023; Latour, 2022; Scoones et al., 2022), the article proposes an integrative value framework called Ecologies of Flourishing. This approach conceptualizes prosperity as the dynamic interaction of ecological regeneration, sociotechnical resilience, cultural meaning-making, political inclusion, and spiritual vitality.Through an interdisciplinary synthesis, the article demonstrates how emerging empirical evidence—from community forests in Central Africa to Indigenous environmental governance in Latin America and circular innovation systems in Asia (UNDP, 2023; UNEP, 2024)—reveals a shift toward relational and regenerative forms of development. The paper introduces two analytical levels: systemic level analysis, which examines how institutions, infrastructures, and ecological boundaries shape macro patterns of prosperity, and lifeworld level analysis, which focuses on subjective and intersubjective experiences of wellbeing, belonging, and purpose. The article argues that post-extractive development offers a scientifically grounded alternative to conventional economic models by integrating ecological boundaries, social capabilities, and cultural-spiritual foundations of value. The framework proposed provides insights for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners seeking to design value systems that support civilizational resilience in an era of global instability.