Addressing Identity and Purpose

So far in this module, we’ve looked at pressures you can see and measure: a changing climate, and the flow of materials and waste. In this lesson, we look at one that is harder to see but just as powerful. It is the pressure on identity and purpose: who we are, where we belong, and what our work is for.

This may seem a surprising topic for a course about circular economies. But every economy is made of people, and people do not only need income. They need meaning, belonging and a reason to get up in the morning. When these weaken, communities lose some of their ability to act, and they become easier to push around. When they are strong, communities can do remarkable things with very little.

What we mean by identity and purpose

Identity is the sense of who we are, shaped by our families, our culture, our language, our history and our place. Purpose is the sense that what we do matters, to ourselves and to others. They are closely connected. A person or community with a strong identity usually has a clearer sense of purpose, and meaningful work strengthens identity in return.

At the community level, these show up in practical ways: who stays in the community and who leaves, whether young people see a future at home, whether elders’ knowledge is passed on, whether people volunteer, organise and look after each other, and whether the community has confidence to take on new things.

Why this belongs in an economics course

It’s easy to treat identity and purpose as separate from the economy, something for culture and wellbeing programs rather than business plans. We think that’s a mistake, for three reasons.

Confidence drives action. Communities that believe in their own knowledge and ability take initiative. Communities that have been told for generations that answers come from elsewhere often wait for outside solutions.

Purpose keeps people. When local work feels meaningful and connected to place, people stay, return and commit. When it doesn’t, talent drains away.

Culture is value. Language, stories, crafts, ceremonies, food, land knowledge and ways of living together are among a community’s most important assets. They can also support enterprises that keep the benefit with the people who hold them.

Put simply, you can’t build an economy that a community owns if the community doesn’t feel it has something worth owning, or the right to decide.

What weakens identity and purpose

Many forces can wear down identity and purpose, and they differ from place to place. Here are some of the main ones.

Loss of connection to place and culture. Languages fade, traditions are no longer practised, and knowledge isn’t passed down. For many Indigenous peoples around the world, including in Canada, this is the direct result of colonial policies that suppressed language, culture and governance, and removed children from their families. The effects are felt across generations, and communities are working actively to restore what was taken.

Outmigration. Young people leave to find education and work, and often don’t return. Communities lose skills, energy and the generational link that holds knowledge together.

The decline of local industry. When a mill closes or a fishery collapses, a community loses more than jobs. It loses a shared identity built around that work.

Distance from decisions. When decisions about land, resources and services are made elsewhere, people can feel like spectators in their own place.

Digital life. Screens and social media connect us across the world, but they can also pull attention away from the people and places around us. Constant comparison, endless feeds and a flood of content can leave people more isolated, more distracted and less rooted, even as they feel more connected.

Automation and changing work. As technology, including artificial intelligence, takes over more tasks, many people are asking where they fit and what their contribution is. Without a clear answer, a sense of purpose can erode.

Consumer culture. When worth is measured by what we own and buy, rather than by what we contribute and care for, meaning becomes harder to find.

None of these forces is unique to one kind of community. A remote First Nation, a former mill town, a suburb and a big city all feel them in different ways.

How lost purpose becomes dependence

Here’s the link to the theme of this module.

When people lose confidence in their own knowledge and ability, they look outside for answers. They hire consultants for what they could learn to do. They accept programs designed elsewhere. They buy rather than make, and wait rather than act. Over time, this habit of looking outward becomes part of how a community sees itself.

It also affects the economy in direct ways. If young people leave, there’s no one to run local enterprises. If traditional skills aren’t passed on, they can’t support local products or experiences. If trust within a community weakens, it becomes harder to organise, share resources or take on a joint project. And if decisions are always made elsewhere, there’s little reason to invest time and energy locally.

Dependence, then, is not only material. It’s also psychological and cultural. This is why sovereignty is more than control over resources. It is confidence in your own ability to decide and to do.

Identity and purpose as abundance

There’s good news here. Identity and purpose are not only things that can be lost. They are things that can be rebuilt, and they can be a source of enormous strength. In the COASTAL framework, they are part of the first form of abundance, Community and Culture, and they connect to Skills and Health and to Tourism and Experience as well.

On the Sunshine Coast, you can see this in several ways. Indigenous tour operators can share culture and land with visitors through experiences led by knowledge holders, supporting local livelihoods as well as understanding. At Selma Park, the shíshálh Nation rebuilt houses into homes for its members, with Nation trades doing much of the work, so that the project built skills, housing and pride at once. Farms that bring degraded land back into production can create jobs and show what restored soil can support.

What these examples share is that the work has a clear purpose, it is connected to place, and the people involved have a real stake in it. That is what makes it meaningful.

Work with purpose

One of the seven STEWARD principles is Work with Purpose. It means building enterprises that serve something beyond profit: the wellbeing of people, the health of the land, the strength of the community. Purpose isn’t decoration. It’s part of the design.

Enterprises built this way tend to share some qualities.

They are rooted in place. They use local materials, knowledge and relationships.

They create dignified, skilled jobs. People can see their contribution and grow.

They connect generations. Elders and youth work together, and knowledge flows in both directions.

They are led by the people they serve. Decisions are made locally, with the community’s values at the centre.

They measure more than money. Skills built, culture strengthened and relationships rebuilt count as results.

Rebuilding identity and purpose: what helps

There’s no single formula, and healing and revitalisation must be led by the people concerned. But across many communities, some approaches help.

Support language and cultural programs. They are not extras. They are foundations.

Create pathways for young people. Training, apprenticeships and enterprises that offer a reason to stay or return.

Value elders’ knowledge. Make space for it in planning, in education and in enterprise.

Build things together. Shared projects, from a community garden to a housing build, create pride and trust.

Tell your own story. Communities that define how they are seen are less likely to be defined by others.

Be careful with attention. Encourage time in person, outdoors and in community, alongside the digital world.

Respect and care

This is a topic that touches real lives. Loss of culture, family and purpose is painful, and it’s not something to treat as a business problem to be solved quickly. Communities decide what they wish to share, how, and with whom. Cultural knowledge belongs to those who hold it. Always ask first, listen, and let the community lead.

If this lesson brings up difficult feelings for you or someone you know, please reach out to a trusted person, a local health service or a crisis line in your area.