Steady State Economy Archives – Page 7 of 46 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Using GDP to Estimate the Limits to Growth

May 25, 2023/8 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Brian Czech

The merits and proper uses of GDP—gross domestic product—have been debated with increasing frequency and intensity in recent years. Neoclassical economists continue to view a growing GDP as the sign of economic success and even social health. Conversely, ecologists who have studied the issue view a growing GDP as an alarming indicator of unsustainability at this point in history.

Meanwhile, a growing number of individuals and organizations in the post-growth community have proposed to eliminate GDP altogether,

May 25, 2023/0 Comments/in Steady State Economy /by Brian Czech

Prospecting for a Steady State in North America

May 18, 2023/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Environment, Greg Mikkelson, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Gregory M. Mikkelson

In late summer of 2001 I moved from the USA to Canada, where my rose-colored glasses paradoxically made the grass look even greener. While President Bush had just reneged on the Kyoto Protocol, Prime Minister Chrétien stood by it, having been one of the first to sign. Two years later Chrétien withstood the pressure to join Bush’s disastrous war against Iraq.

Whose Taps Will Go Dry First?

May 11, 2023/5 Comments/in Economic Growth, Gary Gardner, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Water /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

Experts have warned for decades of potential water scarcity in many regions, but over the past decade the warnings have nearly morphed into large-scale catastrophes. In 2014, water in reservoirs supplying Sao Paulo, Brazil dropped to just five percent of capacity, and residents found themselves on the threshold of severe shortages. In 2017, the mayor of Cape Town warned residents of the impending arrival of “Day Zero,” when critically low reservoir levels would trigger a shutoff of city taps and lead to queues of residents waiting for water at standpipes.

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,

“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 Sustains All Boats

April 13, 2023/4 Comments/in Economic Growth, Inequality, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wealth /by Gary Gardner

by Gregory M. Mikkelson

An important recent article on resource use and its environmental impacts starts from the premise that “the planet’s resources and ecosystems are a commons, and… all people are entitled to an equal, sustainable share.” Alas, the world today deviates wildly from this norm. Indeed, inequality—of resource use, but also of income and wealth—is extremely high today and is actually worsened by economic growth. What’s more, it is bad for our politics,

Even AI Understands Limits to Growth

April 6, 2023/9 Comments/in Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Gary Gardner

by Cole Thompson

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is attracting great attention as working AI systems become accessible to the public. The AI claim is that it can digest the mass of knowledge that humanity has made public, then perform cognitive tasks with that knowledge or answer questions with speed and accuracy. This has many implications, some potentially worrisome. But when AI works well, it can serve up some interesting “truths.”

While AI does not generate authoritative or definitive information—you wouldn’t bet your savings on its output—my sense is that its findings often deserve a hearing.

Lesson from a Failed Bank: Only One Real Start-Up

March 23, 2023/7 Comments/in Banking, Brian Czech, Corporate Reform, Monetary Policy, Money and Investments, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Technology /by Gary Gardner

by Brian Czech

Banks are macroeconomic mirrors. They reflect the activity of the real economy. If the economy is growing, so are the banks, starting with the Federal Reserve and its regional banks, all the way out to tiny First Michigan Bank, Oakwood Bank (the smallest bank in bank-laden Texas), and the patriotically named Citizens Bank of Americus (Georgia).

Not only do the banks,

Bulldozing the Planet

March 16, 2023/5 Comments/in Economic Growth, Environment, Greg Mikkelson, Materials use, Pollution, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Gary Gardner

by Gregory M. Mikkelson

Just as it does for a certain “old man on a green bike,” my commitment to car-free travel often drives me to greater levels of exercise, and more vivid experiences of nature, than one would get behind the wheel of a car. Unfortunately, economic growth has progressively degraded one such experience. Trips to my partner’s lake cottage begin with a commuter train in Montréal and end with an hour-long walk on a dirt road through the countryside.