Debating Population, Poverty and Development
So while there’s much to be said for population control, I think the notion that population control is the most important precursor to economic development and environmental protection is problematic.
Economy featured
The Two Sub-cultures of FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)
Lest it seem like I’m putting socialism above libertarianism, and the common good above individual achievement, I also see that as FIers mature into this freedom they find a balance between focus on themselves and service to community.
Radical Realism for Climate Justice. A Civil Society Response to the Challenge of Limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial is feasible, and it is our best hope of achieving environmental and social justice, of containing the impacts of a global crisis that was born out of historical injustice and highly unequal responsibility.
How Mainstream Economics has Led to Clueless Governments
Governments of all stripes base their policies on mainstream economics. Powerful challenges to the mainstream, especially from ecological economics and modern monetary theory, explain why we are in a hole and can’t seem to get out.
‘Til Sustainability Do You Part: Arranging a Marriage Between Degrowth and the Circular Economy
But advocates of the circular economy rarely grapple with a central truth: the circular economy depends on a significant and sustained period of economic degrowth. Instead they tend to focus on innovations that deliver efficiencies and unlock new economic opportunities.
New Deals, Old Bottles
Let me begin by saying that we leftists do often struggle with the issue of the environment. One member of our tribe recently told me proudly on Twitter that the left was ‘against nature’ (yes, really), and it’s true that historically we’ve had a bit of a thing about trying to keep the messy world of the natural, the organic and the rural at arm’s length…
Why the Distribution of Wealth has More to Do with Power than Productivity
How the fruits of wealth creation should be divided between capital, land and labour has been subject of considerable debate throughout history. In 1817, the economist David Ricardo described this as “the principal problem in political economy”.
Soothing Noah Smith’s Fears about a Post-Growth World
In an era in which we are already dramatically overshooting the planetary boundary on material footprint, this means that aggregate global economic growth cannot continue if we want to avoid chewing through the web of life on which our civilization depends.
Yes, There is an Alternative. These People have Shown How to ‘Take Back Control’
Spread across Britain today are people and places united by a common condition: they are largely powerless. Their economies have been emptied out, their services cut to the bone, their incomes under threat.
Girona, Spain: Cooperative Breaks the Mould to Provide Renewable Energy
In January 2011 Som Energia started to apply for the necessary permits and soon after entered the market as a non-profit cooperative committed to producing 100% renewable energy from hydroelectric, solar, biomass and wind power.
Did the Club of Rome Ever Disavow “The Limits to Growth”? A Story of Ordinary Disinformation
The Club of Rome is inextricably linked to the legendary report that it commissioned to a group of MIT researchers in 1972, “The Limits to Growth.” Today, nearly 50 years later, we still have to come to terms with the vision brought by the report, a vision that contradicts the core of some of humankind’s most cherished beliefs.
Crisis After Crisis: 10 Years After the Crash, There’s No ‘Reforming’ Global Capitalism
The way forward, it is increasingly clear, will be largely determined by the outcome of a political struggle between two post-globalization camps: fascists and democratic socialists.
