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

Whose Behavior Needs to Change? The Other Side of the International Development Coin

October 10, 2024/10 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Consumption, Economic Policy, Governance, Inequality, Limits to Growth, Postgrowth, Poverty, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Wealth, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The Western-led international development sector, born in the aftermath of World War II, has evolved according to this (ironically) Chinese proverb. To better reflect the status of international development, I would append the following sentences to the worn-out proverb: “Use advanced extractive technology to harvest all the fish from the man’s ocean,

Herman Daly Has the Floor

October 26, 2023/2 Comments/in Degrowth, Herman Daly, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

Editor’s Note: Saturday, October 28 marks the first anniversary of Herman Daly’s passing. The father of steady-state economics, Daly was CASSE’s economist emeritus and a long-time board member. We celebrate his clear and stimulating thought with three classic essays from Best of The Daly News.

Wealth, Illth, and Net Welfare

Well-being should be counted in net terms, that is to say we should consider not only the accumulated stock of wealth but also that of “illth;” and not only the annual flow of goods but also that of “bads.” The fact that we have to stretch English usage to find words like illth and bads to name the negative consequences of production that should be subtracted from the positive consequences is indicative of our having ignored the realities for which these words are the necessary names.

Which Future?

August 10, 2023/21 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Gary Gardner, Materials use, Pollution, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology, Wellbeing /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

One of the more puzzling features of modern life is the starkly contrasting visions of humanity’s near-term future. Watch thirty minutes of commercial-filled TV and you get a cheery sense that all is well in the world. A BMW, an anti-depressant, or a Caribbean vacation—these will ensure ever greater happiness.

At the same time, a 2021 poll in ten countries found that four in ten young people are hesitant to have children because of the climate crisis.

Selling the Steady State Economy

May 5, 2023/16 Comments/in Gary Gardner, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

The looks I get are familiar at this point: the blank stare screaming What do you mean, a no-growth economy? The frown of doubt that silently demands, Are you crazy? This is how skepticism about degrowth and steady-state economics manifests in my own life.

The work of a steady-state proponent is not for the faint of heart, to be sure. Steady state economies are sorely needed today but are far from being widely understood,

Happiness Matters, Even in a Steady State Economy! Part 2: Flourishing Life

March 2, 2023/7 Comments/in Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Gary Gardner

by Orsolya Lelkes

Happiness matters. The quest for happiness is an elementary life force and an inherent part of steady state economies. Many fear that reducing material consumption will bring a decline in happiness. We do not like to lose what we already have. Recession and income loss tend to hurt.

On the other hand, voluntary adjustment of priorities in life may boost well-being, as a simpler life might deliver more of what many are missing: health,

Slow is Beautiful: The Need to Decelerate

November 10, 2022/9 Comments/in Brian Czech, Degrowth, Jobs and Employment, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Greg Mikkelson

Brian Czech once likened modern economic growth to a runaway train. This metaphor drives home the point that to save nature and humanity from an ecological train wreck, the most important thing is to decelerate the global economy. Unfortunately, much writing on environmental protection neglects this imperative and fixates instead on what we must accelerate.

For example, the must-read Living Planet Report,

Don’t Fence Me In: Exnovation for Degrowth

July 28, 2022/4 Comments/in Animal Welfare, Biodiversity, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Endangered Species, Environment, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Brian Czech

by Gregory Mikkelson

During recent visits to my family’s woods in northern Wisconsin, I have methodically snipped, pulled out, and recycled a half-mile of long-abandoned barbed wire. By doing so, I hope to help the biotic communities on either side of the old fence line to reconnect. The work is great exercise, and deeply satisfying.

I have not yet figured out who installed the wire or when, but the stuff was invented by Lucien Smith in 1867,

War of the Words: Rebranding the “Healthy Economy”

June 16, 2022/14 Comments/in Consumption, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Mark Cramer

Industries strive incessantly to increase human productivity, often by way of mechanizing or automating tasks. After all, there are limits to purely human energy, strength, and ability. Without more workers, we require technological innovation to overcome these limitations. Fortunately for the pro-growth industries, technology doesn’t earn wages.

Even outside of the workplace, technology takes the place of utilitarian exercise. Long ago, most people hunted and gathered their own food.

The Story of a Steady-State Christmas Yet to Come

December 23, 2021/7 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by James Lamont

Every year we are inundated with a mountain of content advising us on how to have a low impact or psychologically healthy Christmas, complete with the latest juicy and disturbing figures from our laughably inefficient economy. Caught in a matrix of overbearing social obligations, financial and employment pressures, and the imminent collapse of our life support systems, the proliferation of these articles is a welcome sign.

Reframing the Debate: It’s the (Steady State) Economy, Stupid

October 14, 2021/18 Comments/in Degrowth, Politics, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

May I offer you a pet peeve to chew on? I’m willing to share one for our mutual displeasure.

Here it is: Being told by academics and activists—nary a political expert among them—that “it doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as we’re all after the same thing.” With the possible exception of Donald Trump’s lips, nothing could be further from the truth. If common sense doesn’t suffice to illuminate the importance of name recognition,