Population Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

“I Know You’re Malthusian, But What Am I?”

April 20, 2023/20 Comments/in Economic Growth, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by John Mirisch

Times are evidently rough for our natalist, growthmaniac friends.

More people than ever are questioning their agenda of increasing the planet’s population beyond the current 8 billion people (double the level of less than fifty years ago) in the name of “progress” and profit. Yet the growthmaniacs’ only response to anyone who links human population and ecological overshoot is to scream “Malthus!” at the top of their lungs (although some Marvel fanboy growthmaniacs have been known to respond “Thanos!” instead).

A Steady-State Approach to Immigration

September 8, 2022/20 Comments/in Brian Czech, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

Steady staters live with the reality that economic growth is unsustainable. It can continue for only so long before Nature will no longer support it. Therefore, we call for stabilization—the steady state economy—rather than growth. In particular, population and per capita consumption must be stabilized. Of the two, population is the most fundamental aspect of stabilizing the economy and its ecological footprint.

The population of a country is determined by births,

Heart Troubles: The Link between Cardiovascular Disease and GDP Growth

June 2, 2022/2 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Taylor Lange

Heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability across the world. The Global Burden of Disease Study covers ten specific cardiovascular diseases and designates rarer ailments in an “other” category. The most prevalent and deadly diseases are ischemic heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive heart disease. In 2019, cardiovascular disease lead to the deaths of 18.6 million people globally.

Morality in the Womb: More than Meets the Mass’s Eye

May 12, 2022/7 Comments/in Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Population, Poverty, Religion, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Max Kummerow

With the recent leaking of the draft decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the heated controversy over a woman’s right to abort—or voluntarily terminate—a pregnancy is again at the forefront of democratic discourse. At the heart of this debate are issues of morality and theology. Self-identified Christians make up 63 percent of the U.S. population, with Evangelical Protestants and Catholics representing an overwhelming portion of the “pro-life” camp.

The Colorado River: Devoured by Growth

May 5, 2022/15 Comments/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Gary Wockner

“The nature of consumption is the consumption of Nature” – Jordan Perry

The natural environment of the American Southwest is sending out a loud call of distress, but few people in positions of power are listening. Economic and population growth are straining nature, especially across the Colorado River Basin, which encompasses parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

From 2010 to 2020,

A Perfect Storm for Inflation: COVID, Loose Money, and Putin

March 10, 2022/6 Comments/in Brian Czech, Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Governance, Inflation, Jobs and Employment, Monetary Policy, Politics, Population, Poverty, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

The current bout of inflation should be no surprise to steady staters. We have national and global ecosystems pushed to the limits by population and economic growth. At the same time, we have monetary authorities and heads of state—neoclassically oblivious to limits—eager to stimulate the economy with loose money. It’s a recipe for inflation.

We tweeted all the way back in March 2020 that inflation was coming.

A Place for a Steady State in the EU Green Deal

January 6, 2022/2 Comments/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Consumption, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Governance, Jobs and Employment, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Adel Ramdani

The European Green Deal, the EU’s flagship environmental program, aims to profoundly transform the EU’s 27 member states into low-carbon economies. The deal was rolled out in December 2019 by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. It’s supposed to be a roadmap toward a “fair and prosperous society” with an economy that is modern, resource-efficient, and competitive. So far, so good? Let’s take a deeper dive.

Resisting the Temptation of Growth at the County Level

November 19, 2021/1 Comment/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Governance, Jobs and Employment, Monetary Policy, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Daniel Giles

Across the USA, a battle for the souls of rural counties is being waged. The battle is fought not in major news outlets, but in local government meetings and the opinion columns of local newspapers. Despite the lack of national coverage, the cumulative outcome of these localized conflicts will change the American landscape for generations to come.

This monumental battle is between those fighting for growth—or “development” as some use interchangeably—and those who strive to conserve the current character of counties.

Housing Policy: An Agent for Growth

October 7, 2021/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by John Mirisch

In the ongoing and increasingly heated discussions about housing, urban planning, and zoning, I often return to Greta Thunberg’s seething indictment of our world’s decision-makers: “Here we are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can do is talk about money and fairytales of eternal economic growth.”

Greta may have been directing her remarks to politicians at the highest levels of government; but, neither should we forget as former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill once famously remarked,

Wellbeing, Happiness, and GDP Growth: Rhetoric vs. Reality

July 15, 2021/5 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by James MacGregor Palmer

Several movements are working in opposition to the destructive growth economy of the 21st century. The labels adopted by these movements are largely tied to the regions in which they originated and/or became popular. For example, the term “steady state” is most prevalent in the USA, while “degrowth” is often associated with continental Europe. The widespread term throughout the UK, however, is “wellbeing economy.”

Without prior knowledge of the UK term,