Steady State Economy Archives – Page 4 of 17 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

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

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!

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.

COVID-19 in the UK: A Choice between Life and Lucre?

November 25, 2020/2 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by James MacGregor Palmer

1.8 million pounds.

That’s how much the UK government thinks our lives are worth.

Placing an economic value on a human being is nothing new. It’s standard practice in a growth-obsessed society that ascribes economic value to whatever it can.

The Economy Over All

Last week the UK’s COVID-19 death toll broke the 50,000 mark. With our own wild-haired leader of the post-truth era at the helm,

Orange Cone Headaches: Construction in an Overpopulated, Pro-Growth World

November 19, 2020/0 Comments/in Economic Growth, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By Karen I. Shragg

Spotting a “Road Work Ahead” sign is enough to make any driver groan or nervously clutch her steering wheel. These warnings are meant to ensure people’s safety, yet they often also come with a myriad of traffic problems: congestion, noise, car wrecks, etc. In cities especially, orange cones are littered everywhere, causing copious delays and all for the sake of further “improvement” projects.

While infrastructure repair is an ongoing necessity,

A Steady-State Analysis of the 2020 Presidential Election

November 12, 2020/12 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Brian Czech

We now have a 46th President-Elect, with Joe Biden promising to restore the soul of America. What does it mean for advancing the steady state economy as the sustainable alternative to growth? And what did we learn in the process?

I for one ended up with egg on my face, if not a whole omelet, by calling Trump a lame duck way back in early August.

The Meat of the Matter: Diet, Climate, and the Steady State Economy

October 30, 2020/3 Comments/in Animal Welfare, Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Haley Demircan

The saying “you are what you eat” is clearly true to a great extent, but there’s more to the story. The food we consume not only affects our being directly, but also the environment and the economy—and therefore us indirectly as well. Eating more vegetables and less meat and dairy is better for the health of most individuals here and now, and certainly for the health of the planet, now and for the long run.

Who Does Economic Growth Serve?

October 15, 2020/3 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

For many people, one of the causes of our obsession with economic growth is our belief that it will make our lives better. We think that with a little more money and a little more financial security, we will be able to better provide for our families, pay for our children’s college, and eventually retire, perhaps not wealthy but safe in the knowledge that we will never be poor.

For others,

Fair Incomes for a Healthy Future: The Sustainable Salaries Act

September 24, 2020/10 Comments/in Biodiversity, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Ashfia Khan

To achieve sustainability in the USA and generally, it is crucial that we narrow the income gap between the highest and lowest earners. An equitable distribution of income is a prerequisite of social and environmental sustainability. It’s not just about sustainability, either—it’s about fairness, too.

People tend to be happier and healthier in societies where there is a more equitable distribution of wealth, as well as more likely to receive higher education and have a longer life expectancy.

Wealth Transfers, Carbon Dioxide Removal, and the Steady State Economy

September 17, 2020/5 Comments/in Climate Change, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Energy, Environment, Poverty, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Brian Snyder

In 2019, the U.S. per capita GDP was $65,000. It seems obvious that this level of economic activity is more than sufficient to meet the needs of the U.S. population; after all, if we can’t live fulfilled, productive lives in an economy producing $65,000 per person per year, more money and production will never be enough. Further, additional per capita economic growth in the USA is uneconomic. For example, economic growth to $75,000 per person per year will not increase our economic wellbeing nearly as much as it will decrease ecological wellbeing;

Posts

by James MacGregor Palmer

by Brian Czech

by Carey King

by James MacGregor Palmer

The Economy Over All

By Karen I. Shragg

by Brian Czech

by Haley Demircan

by Brian Snyder

by Ashfia Khan

by Brian Snyder