wellbeing Archives – Page 2 of 3 – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Building Upon the Trophic Theory of Money: Preliminary Results from Canada

June 24, 2020/5 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Monetary Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By James Magnus-Johnston

The human economy doesn’t just mimic the economy of nature; it is part of it. It is woven directly into the ecological system of producers and consumers. Due to the technological prowess of Homo sapiens, though, the human presence dominates, threatening other species and the life support system of the planet. Human dominance over non-human life leads us to acknowledge some uncomfortable truths, particularly for proponents of “green growth.”

The first pertains to the loss of biodiversity.

New Zealand Deprioritizes Growth to Improve Health and Wellbeing

May 12, 2020/2 Comments/in Consumption, Environment, Monetary Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

By James Magnus-Johnston

Last May, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern released a budget to improve the “wellbeing” of citizens rather than focusing on productivity and GDP growth. And, not so coincidentally, New Zealand has one of the best coronavirus outcomes of any democracy in the world. Perhaps this provides a global model to make economic health cohere with health for all life.

To improve wellbeing, Ardern emphasized goals that focus on care for people and the planet.

Social Solidarity Requires a Universal Basic Income

April 29, 2020/5 Comments/in Economic Growth, Environment, Monetary Policy, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

By James Magnus-Johnston

Going forward in these uncertain times, a universal basic income could be the best way to maintain social solidarity—whether referring to health, wellbeing, or public order. “Solidarity,” writes Eric Klinenberg, “motivates us to promote public health, not just our own personal security. It keeps us from hoarding medicine” and prompts us “to knock on our older neighbor’s door.” It is a structure and a mindset that breaks down the barriers of inequality and improves trust,

Happiness and the COVID-Caused Recession

April 21, 2020/2 Comments/in Animal Welfare, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Jobs and Employment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald /by Brian Czech

by Beth Allgood

Modified from the original published in Our Daily Planet (ourdailyplanet.com) on March 21, 2020.

In 2013, the United Nations designated March 20th as the International Day of Happiness to recognize the importance of happiness and wellbeing in the lives of people around the world. Last year I attended the launch of the annual UN World Happiness Report in New York. This year the UN is closed to the public,

Book Review: National Accounts and Environmentally Sustainable National Income by Roefie Hueting and Bart de Boer

March 31, 2020/0 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

By Gerry Greaves

When CASSE’s Executive Director, Brian Czech, asked me if I would like to review a book on national accounts, my first reaction was, “Why would I care?” I was familiar with the national accounting system, but my concentration in environmental advocacy typically focused on climate change and its effects on economic inequality. My interest was piqued, though, when he explained that this book was different, because the authors had developed a system to incorporate environmental sustainability in the national accounts.

Normalizing Outbreaks in the Anthropocene: Growth Isn’t the Cure

March 10, 2020/4 Comments/in Corporate Reform, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

By James Magnus-Johnston

Death rates. Infection rates. Handwashing. Handwringing.

May I re-frame the coronavirus conversation? Although the world is currently stunned by the rapid spread of this virus across the globe, we must understand that these kinds of outbreaks are simply going to happen more often in our climate-altered world, and they highlight the fragility of our growth-or-bust industrial system. But there is a silver lining: This moment requires industrial societies to emphasize wellbeing over GDP and to witness the vulnerability of global,

[Book Review] Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline

September 19, 2019/4 Comments/in Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Environment, Population, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability /by Brian Czech

by Max Kummerow

In Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline (Crown Publishing Group, New York, 2019) Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson argue that population decline will bring many social and economic changes—some good, some bad. They assert that “In three decades, give or take…global population starts to decline.”

Note that their title is a bit misleading. World population will probably rise to over 10 billion before the slow decline would begin.

Appropriate Scarcity

October 15, 2015/8 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Robert A. Herendeen

… appealing to people to restrain themselves [by] self-enforced abstinence alone is a waste of time. By and large, we consume as much as our incomes allow…. changes… cannot take place without constraints that apply to everyone rather than everyone else. Manmade global warming cannot be restrained unless we persuade the government to force us to change the way we live.

—George Monbiot, Heat (2006/2009)

The results indicate that the likelihood of paying a positive amount for supporting renewable energy is higher under a mandatory scheme compared to a voluntary payment option in the UK.

Where is Pope Francis on Economic Growth?

September 2, 2015/7 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Environment, Religion, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by David Kane

Those who believe that there is a fundamental conflict between economic growth and environmental protection will find Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be), a welcome addition to the literature; as well as an important tool in helping others, especially Catholics, to understand and accept the limitations of economic growth. Pope Francis explains how the environmental and social crises we are experiencing will require “profound changes in lifestyles,

Good Health Requires Different Economics

July 2, 2015/1 Comment/in Economic Growth, The Daly News /by Brian Czech

by Trevor Hancock

For the past three years, I have been leading an important project for the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), which led to the release on May 25th of our Discussion Paper and a 100-page technical report on global change and public health.

In these documents, we identify what we call the “ecological determinants of health”: clean air and water, food, materials, fuel, the great cycles of water,

Posts

by Beth Allgood

by Robert A. Herendeen

by David Kane

by Trevor Hancock