Steady State Herald – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Ad Nauseum: Addressing America’s Advertising Problem

June 23, 2022/10 Comments/in Consumption, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Haley Mullins

by Haley Mullins

One of the biggest roadblocks to achieving a steady state economy is advertising. While seemingly innovative solutions to consume conscientiously are becoming more prevalent, most people aren’t Marie Kondo-ing their way through each purchase, stopping to question whether the item in their shopping cart will “spark joy.” But how much blame can we really assign consumers when they’ve been dropped onto a hamster wheel of coupons,

War of the Words: Rebranding the “Healthy Economy”

June 16, 2022/12 Comments/in Consumption, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Haley Mullins

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 NRA’s Kuznets Curve: Deadliest Mind Game on Earth?

June 9, 2022/4 Comments/in Governance, Politics, Steady State Herald /by Haley Mullins

by Brian Czech

Herald readers were reminded last week of a concept called the “Kuznets curve,” named after the late Simon Kuznets (1901-1985) for his analysis of the distribution of wealth. Kuznets (rhymes with “whose nets”) found, more or less, that the maldistribution of wealth had worsened in the decades preceding the 1920s, and lessened afterward. He famously linked both trends to economic growth, noting different effects of growth before and after the 20s.

Heart Troubles: The Link between Cardiovascular Disease and GDP Growth

June 2, 2022/1 Comment/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Haley Mullins

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.

Sell Your Stocks and Enjoy the Slide

May 26, 2022/10 Comments/in Banking, Consumption, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Monetary Policy, Money and Investments, Poverty, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Haley Mullins

by Brian Czech

I’m sorry if you’re one of the 145 million Americans invested in the stock market, but I actually find it gratifying to see the market sliding. Why shouldn’t I? As a steady stater, I’m firmly against GDP growth in the 21st century. A perpetually growing stock market presupposes a perpetually growing economy. If the market has to decline along with GDP, I’m all for it.

Steering Away from a Car-Centric Society

May 19, 2022/3 Comments/in Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Energy, Environment, Money and Investments, Politics, Poverty, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Haley Mullins

by Mai Nguyen

Learning to drive scared me as a teenager. There was something terrifying about controlling a two-ton hunk of metal, and my drivers’ education teacher didn’t help by showing a graphic slideshow of injuries we could expect from a brutal car accident. This didn’t bother me much once I moved to the city; with buses, the metro, and bike or scooter shares, there are plenty of other ways to get around.

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 Haley Mullins

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, 2022/13 Comments/in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Consumption, Economic Growth, Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Politics, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Haley Mullins

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,

Icebreakers in the Arctic: An Overlooked Environmental Concern

April 14, 2022/2 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Governance, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology /by Haley Mullins

by Johanna Cohn

Global heating has a greater impact on the Arctic than the rest of the planet. In fact, the Arctic is warming at a rate almost twice the global average. This is due to Arctic ice’s high albedo, meaning the ice reflects a tremendous amount of sunlight into the atmosphere. As the ice melts, the sea water absorbs more sunlight than it reflects. The resulting water subsequently warms and evaporates,

The Trophic Theory of Money, with Apologies to Peter Victor

April 7, 2022/3 Comments/in Consumption, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Food and Agriculture, Monetary Policy, Money and Investments, Postgrowth, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Haley Mullins

by Brian Czech

In my critical review of Peter Victor’s biography, Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World, I focused on two major and several lesser weaknesses of the book. The two major weaknesses, in my opinion, are the confusion over GDP as an indicator of environmental impact, and the absence of CASSE in a book that, in many ways, CASSE helped make possible or at least more marketable.