Economic Policy Archives – Page 5 of 25 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Paying Taxes with Trophic Money: Watch Out for Environmental Backfires

March 4, 2021/12 Comments/in Brian Czech, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Food and Agriculture, Governance, Monetary Policy, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

I didn’t set out to coin a phrase, but “trophic money” will be far handier than “money derived pursuant to the trophic theory of money.” The trophic theory of money is that money originates via the agricultural surplus that frees the hands for the division of labor into all the other economic activities, most basically manufacturing and services. It’s a theory of money that reflects not only the trophic structure of the economy—with manufacturing and services built upon a base of agriculture and extraction—but the fact that money is meaningless unless we have an agricultural surplus at the trophic base.

The GameStop Boom: Lessons for Steady Staters

February 11, 2021/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Monetary Policy, Money and Investments, Poverty, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by James MacGregor Palmer

Over the last week of January, it was hard to miss the headlines: “Reddit vs Wall Street,” “Reddit Sparks Wall Street Crisis,” “The Reddit Traders Who Took On Wall Street’s Elite.” The GameStop phenomenon, fueled by the Reddit forum “WallStreetBets,” was pitched as a David vs Goliath story where a group of ordinary citizens took on the elites and won.

Ecofeminism and the Steady State Economy

February 4, 2021/1 Comment/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Casey Reiland

On September 23, 2019, a 16 year-old girl fearlessly sent a message to world leaders at the UN Headquarters: “We’ll be watching you.” Though Greta Thunberg had become a household name at this point for her school-strike movement, this speech would mark her as the voice of a generation, garnering 4 million views and a designation as “Time’s 2019 Person of the Year.” Though her whole speech is moving,

Let’s Meet in the Ring: Steady Staters in the “Green Doughnut”

January 28, 2021/4 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By Kayla Downs

To most people, the idea of a steady state economy is misunderstood at best and completely unknown at worst. Outside of economic, environmental, and academic circles, steady staters are hard to come by. The idea of a steady state economy is not yet mainstream and is shied away from in the media, general politics, education, and culture. Economic growth has been sold to generations as the remedy to all our ailments.

Population Growth: The Ironic Vexer

January 21, 2021/50 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

In a world of vexing issues—and our topic this week is certainly that—population growth might just be the most ironic. That’s because it should be among the simplest of issues; almost trifling in its mathematics. Yet opinions about it are beset with political, economic, and even some technical controversy.

For steady staters it seems perfectly clear: Population must be stabilized for the sake of societal well-being and even mere sustainability.

Steady Statesmanship and Climate Policy in the Midst of a Fascist Threat

January 14, 2021/8 Comments/in Economic Policy, Politics /by Brian Czech

By Brian Snyder

The insurrectionist mob that stormed the Capitol last week has been frequently described as fascist. Certainly, it was a far-right, racist mob attempting to overthrow a democratic election, as with the Beerhall Putsch or the March on Rome. Yet, the real fascists in the Capitol weren’t the mob. The actual fascists are far more powerful than a bunch of conspiracy-addled cosplayers. The real fascists were the half-dozen senators and 140 or so representatives who abetted and instigated the insurrection.

Challenging the Pro-Growth Market: Mark Carney’s Reith Lectures and the Need for a Radical Approach

January 6, 2021/8 Comments/in Economic Policy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by James MacGregor Palmer

“Society won’t settle for worthy statements followed by futile gestures. It won’t settle for countries announcing plans in Paris five years ago for 2.8 degrees warming, far too high, that they don’t even meet. Society won’t settle for companies that preach green but don’t manage their carbon footprints, or financial institutions who can’t tell us whether our money is on the right or wrong side of climate history.”

These are not the words of an environmental activist,

Christ Didn’t Shop for Christmas Presents (Much Less Jets and Guns)

December 23, 2020/7 Comments/in Brian Czech, Consumption, Economic Policy, Jobs and Employment, Religion, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

With Christmas two days out, folks are making tough decisions about Christmas presents. Unemployment rates in 2020 have reached their highest rates since the Great Depression, and gift-giving is a real strain for many. My advice for anyone stressing out over Christmas presents is: Don’t be too hard on yourselves. It’s not like you need an excuse to temper the shopping, but if an excuse was needed, the COVID-caused recession would be it!

American Totalism: Technology, Economy, and Nationality

December 16, 2020/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

“Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality.” Those were the principles that underlaid most of the Tsarist governments in the final 80 years of Romanov rule. It was a slogan and a belief system, Russia’s version of “liberté, égalité, fraternité.” Eventually, under the leadership of a poor autocrat, Nicholas II, it would lead to the Russian Revolution and the brutal murder of Nicholas and his family. Yet between its coining in 1832 and the Revolution in 1917,

The Impact of Evolutionary Pressures on Economic Narratives

December 9, 2020/15 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Carey King

People use narratives to support their position, and narratives can serve three purposes. First, they tell a story of belonging. If you meet a stranger and realize you are from a common area, you more easily engage in conversation than otherwise. Second, they describe norms that guide our actions. Most people in society follow certain norms such that by doing so, they are accepted as part of the group. Third—and most relevant to advancing the steady state economy—we use narratives to describe and learn about how the world works.