A great place to start in the debate on sustainable capitalism is Tim Jackson's work Prosperity Without Growth? This link is to the original report which has since been revised and published as a book. In it he sets out the main problems with the issues of growth and the rate at which we need to change in order to become more sustainable. What is refreshing about this work is that it is not written in the preaching manner that many people adopt on sustainability. Instead it looks at facts from an economic perspective, dealing with the stark realities and some of the flaws in current economic thinking, such as decoupling and how it might not be the answer we are all looking for.
The reason I picked this work as a place to start is that it covers most of the topics that are relevant, it outlines the problems we currently face and suggests some solutions. It calls for a holistic approach to changing the way we look at our economic systems, particularly in the developed world so that our measures of prosperity move away from growth models, towards human development aims.
My one fear with this kind of report is that it requires everybody to make changes in their lifestyles. I fear this is far too idealistic and perhaps the hardest struggle of all will be convincing people that this is in their best interests,
Monday, 3 January 2011
Sunday, 2 January 2011
New Year, New Blog!
I have started this blog as a portal to my research and thinking on sustainable capitalism. What this aims to do is show how capitalism can become more sustainable and worthwhile. I believe capitalism is the best economic model we have, but there are a few changes that need to be made in order to make it more useful for humanity and the environment. I don't believe I have all the answers, but I hope to bring together like minded thinkers and get the debate going and see where it leads us.
One of the major problems with capitalism is the concept of 'growth' and its consequences. Capitalism has become addicted to growth, through its aims and even its measures of success, such as GDP and market share etc. I believe this has led to wrong decisions being made, the wrong targets being used and will ultimately end in humans destroying the planet through their actions. It is a fact that in the UK and other developed countries we have created a consumption based system which does not necessarily make our lives more fulfilled. In fact the opposite is the case: it seems the richer we get the more unhappy we become and there is pain for those that are unable to quench that man-made desire for more.
What are the consequences of growth? We live on a finite planet and are rapidly using all our available resources, without consideration for what happens when they are all gone. The planet can survive without humans, but we cannot survive without the planet. Therefore we need to develop methods of using the limited resources we have to the best of their ability to provide prosperity for all rather than taking them for granted. It is this idea that will form the basis for my blog.
I hope you find what I say interesting and that it might make you think a little harder about how you live; I also look forward to hearing your own thoughts and contributions to this concept.
One of the major problems with capitalism is the concept of 'growth' and its consequences. Capitalism has become addicted to growth, through its aims and even its measures of success, such as GDP and market share etc. I believe this has led to wrong decisions being made, the wrong targets being used and will ultimately end in humans destroying the planet through their actions. It is a fact that in the UK and other developed countries we have created a consumption based system which does not necessarily make our lives more fulfilled. In fact the opposite is the case: it seems the richer we get the more unhappy we become and there is pain for those that are unable to quench that man-made desire for more.
What are the consequences of growth? We live on a finite planet and are rapidly using all our available resources, without consideration for what happens when they are all gone. The planet can survive without humans, but we cannot survive without the planet. Therefore we need to develop methods of using the limited resources we have to the best of their ability to provide prosperity for all rather than taking them for granted. It is this idea that will form the basis for my blog.
I hope you find what I say interesting and that it might make you think a little harder about how you live; I also look forward to hearing your own thoughts and contributions to this concept.
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