Anyone who believes exponential
growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist
... Kenneth Boulding
It’s one of the ironies of modern life ... most people will
agree with you if you suggest that continuous economic growth is impossible in
a finite world. And yet we carry on believing
in the Myth of Growth, and hoping that somehow the “cavalry will arrive over
the hill” in the nick of time, and everything will be alright. Psychologists would call this “cognitive
dissonance”. We may not be aware of it,
but deep down this schism in our mind is making us unwell.
Whilst the rest of the world is celebrating the end of the
Great Recession, and talking of the return to the economic holy grail of 3% annual
Economic Growth, an increasing number of economists, academics and activists are
arguing that Continuous Growth is Impossible, and they are talking about a
radically different alternative ... The Steady State Economy and a process of
Economic Degrowth which will take us there.
The Steady State Economy is a beguiling utopia. It promises
a release from the tyranny of the infernal cycle of work, wealth and
consumerism. It enables full and
satisfying employment. It gives us free
time to do the things we want to do. It
allows us to concentrate on the really important things in life. And it is a way of life that ensures Ecological
Sustainability and Social Equity, and enables us to believe in the survival of
the human species.
And a new Degrowth Movement has begun in Europe. It started
in France in 2001 under the banner of “Décroissance”. It spread to Italy
and Spain later. The English term
“Degrowth” was accepted at the first Degrowth Conference in Paris in 2008. The Degrowth movement has yet to gain a
stronghold in the UK, but it is only a matter of time, because Degrowth is a
concept whose time has come. (http://www.degrowth.org/)
Fundamental to the idea of Degrowth is the need to redefine
the concept of Prosperity away from money as measured by GDP to a more
sustainable definition. A good place to
start is Tim Jackson’s definition here ...
“For at the end of the day,
prosperity goes beyond material pleasures. It transcends material concerns. It
resides in the health and happiness of our families. It is present in the
strength of our relationships and our trust in the community. It is evidenced
by our satisfaction at work and our sense of shared meaning and purpose. It
hangs on our potential to participate fully in the life of society”.
