Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The “peer to peer” and commons-oriented vision for a new type of civilization and economic system starts from an analysis of what is fundamentally wrong with the current economic system.
Most environmental problems build slowly, almost imperceptibly as the economy weaves its way through the ecosystem.
Given that City of Detroit has now officially filed for bankruptcy, it is worth looking at the bigger picture.
Last week I attended an extraordinary occasion in Paris, which felt momentus and historic, but in the somewhat confused and mixed way these things often do.
Presently Americans wait with bated breath, watching sales numbers and unemployment statistics, grasping for signs that an economic recovery is underway.
In the early 20th century, there was strong support for the “shorter hours” movement, and working hours were essentially cut in half as people began to embrace the possibilities of life beyond everyday work.
What if we aren’t about to return to economic growth? What if the economic growth era is actually behind us?
This high-energy/high-technology life of affluent societies is a dead end.
•Horror story •Gattopardo economics: The crisis and the mainstream response of change that keeps things the same •The Wrath of Capital: Neoliberalism and Climate Change Politics •"Twenty-Something" Entrepreneurs Return To Northern Michigan •The Economy Of Tomorrow Project
The other day I read an excellent piece by Calvin Jones, Professor of Economics at Cardiff Business School (see right) called Technology Cannot Tackle Climate Change. Having argued that, due to a range of issues, economic growth is no longer possible, he writes: “Faced with these issues it is easy to withdraw into either a belief in an economic growth fairy, or into passive, nihilistic depression. But this is not necessary. Many societies historically have functioned perfectly well without ever-increasing levels of growth and complexity”.
The difficulty for any person who goes to another country to talk about economic and political policy is that they are almost inevitably going to be, to some degree, out of touch and out of tune with on the spot realities.
•The death of innovation, the end of growth •Argument: Is it time to ditch the pursuit of economic growth? •The End of Growth? •Global Wealth Inequality – What you never knew you never knew •There’s no need for all this economic sadomasochism
