Publications
Prosperity without Growth? - The transition to a sustainable economy
| Date: | 30/03/2009 |
|---|---|
| Classification: | Economics |
| Document type: | SDC Reports & Papers |
| Rating: |  (26 reviews) |
| Download: |  prosperity_without_growth_report.pdf - 3045 KB |
| Summary: | Prosperity Without Growth? says that the current global recession should be the occasion to forge a new economic system equipped to avoid the shocks and negative impacts associated with our reliance on growth. Ahead of the G20 Summit in London, the report calls on leaders to adopt a 12-step plan to make the transition to a fair, sustainable, low-carbon economy. » Have your say in our forum! |
Your comments
 | We need visions of where the world can be, not just 'the way the world is'. If we stuck with the 'its human nature' ethic, we'd still have slavely, brutal empires and subjugation of women. I'm not saying these don't exist in certain forms or areas today, but have improved over times past. People grow in their awareness and society does change - this report is part of that vision building. |
| Re: "Why is it that this think-tank report is not being trumpeted in all the newspapers and taken up by every serious political party as a workable way forward?" - because although the report makes utter sense it challenges the status quo too much for some people (and political donors). |
| This is one of the most important publications of the last four decades. It firmly buries the myth that endless economic growth is viable in a world of finite and rapidly declining resources. Further, the delusionary nature of the 'decoupling' argument is clearly and irrefutably stated. De-growth will come, whether in an chaotic and unpleasant way as a consequence of collapsing supply chains and terminally damaged ecosystems, or (possibly) in a managed and beneficial way through intelligent planning. The choice is ours. |
| I enjoyed reading this report, however, believe its mesage is, sadly, an illusion. On a positive note, I was interested to learn that economic growth is necessary to deal with debt. This is commonsense on reflection. Having a mortgage in nominal terms works for me because I have an expectation of salary growth over time, and of rising property values (and thanks to incremental price inflation). But the main issue I have is that the concept of prosperity without growth smacks rather of social engineering. What's missing in the world is a benevolent omnipotent dictator is wyhat this report seems to be saying. No wonder it has had so little pick up from governments. At one time the tourism boom in the Himalayas led to local Nepalis increasingly being able to buying TVs from the sale of eggs. Their nutrition suffered as a result. Are the report writers going to go to Nepal and tell them that materialism is bad, when we all have TV sets ourselves? Of course not.(Actually I don't own a TV but that's just because there is so little worth seeing on free-to-air TV in New Zealand.) Foreign aid to Ethiopia in the 1990s fuelled civil war rather than prosperity. Are we going to help other countries and tell them not to be greedy or materialistic? Again, of course we aren't. Sadly, this report which is about how the world should be, as opposed to how the world really is, reads as lofty and sentimental nonsense - that said, still enjoyed it. |
| Why is it that this think-tank report is not being trumpeted in all the newspapers and taken up by every serious political party as a workable way forward? (particularly in the updated form of the book of the same name)? seems common sense to me, whatever the naysayers say. |
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