Monday, January 27, 2014

Bizarre solution! Degrowth

When there's not enough for everyone, what do we do?

Here's an absolutely fascinating subject area that's relatively new, at least by name, in academic circles. It points to a deliberate plan of action to preclude the inevitable collapse in various locales due to having exceeded carrying capacity.

Current national policy and business models require continued growth, do they not? Is there another approach?

Degrowth is a political, economic, and social movement based on ecological economics and anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas. It is also considered an essential economic strategy responding to the limits-to-growth dilemma (see The Path to Degrowth in Overdeveloped Countries and Post growth).

Degrowth thinkers and activists advocate for the downscaling of production and consumption—the contraction of economies—arguing that overconsumption lies at the root of long term environmental issues and social inequalities.

Key to the concept of degrowth is that reducing consumption does not require individual martyring and a decrease in well-being.[2] Rather, 'degrowthists' aim to maximize happiness and well-being through non-consumptive means—sharing work, consuming less, while devoting more time to art, music, family, culture and community.[3]

Reality has shown us the problem in dozens of major venues. Many cities now are stressed for water in the U.S. and for oil, natural gas, and electrical power. Regions are stressed for agricultural resources, particularly irrigation water. Consumption strains the international marketplace.

We're flying fresh flowers half-way around the world for some high-school prom corsage, for pity's sake.
Thoughts?  This is something about which our kids will wonder why it took us so long to understand; true?