New economic thinking says that perpetual growth is destroying the environment and is not fairly compensating people for living lives that are dominated by work, a business commentator says.
De-growth, rather than a constant quest for growth measured through GDP, is being seen as a rational model, Rebecca Stevenson told Kathryn Ryan.
Photo: 123rf
“It is the idea that societies should prioritise the well-being of their populations and the environment and eschew that economic growth that they say has come at a really high cost.”
One of the leading voices in the movement is economist Jason Hickel, she says.
“Hickel is the author of a book Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. And he says, in short, the world is producing too many greenhouse gases, is overfishing, over polluting and is unsustainable in myriad ways, from plastics in the ocean to deforestation.
“He says the relationship between economic growth and ecological breakdown is well demonstrated. And growth itself, he says, has actually become a term of propaganda, what's actually happening is that elites in our society are accumulating vast wealth and appropriating human labour and natural resources to do so.”
A New Zealand report published in December 2021, Investing in Degrowth, pointed out that wealth is now being extracted from the future, Stevens says.
“For the first time, young adults are destined to be poorer than their parents. I've even seen statements from the Treasury boss, Caralee McLiesh, in which she pointed out since the turn of the century, the wealth gap between over 65s and under 35s has more than doubled.”
The report also looks at resource extraction in New Zealand, she says.
“Resource extraction has increased four-fold in the past 50 years, from 27 billion tonnes in 1970, to more than 100 billion tonnes in 2020. And those projections see it swelling out to 167 billion estimated tonnes extracted by 2060.
“The report found 91 percent of those materials used in global production are wasted or dumped, and only a really small percentage is captured for reuse.”
We are gaining efficiencies, she says, but they are not being felt in the environment.
“Efficiency gains just seem to be ploughed back into more consumption and more growth, rather than reducing that impact.”
A degrowth economy would be a local economy, she says.
“Local communities growing food for each other, not for the growth of a business or industry or profit. People would probably work paid work less but have more freedom from that work and less money to spend on consumption but more time to invest in that acting local - recycling and repairing are absolutely key planks of the degrowth economy.”
A universal basic income would also be part of the mix, she says.
“Degrowth doesn't allow for that rampant consumerism we've become so much used to. So, it's turning your back on fast fashion, buying second-hand, repairing as much as you can, and clamping down on waste.”
Services as well as income would also be universal, she says.
“Public health, public education and it also promotes the idea of decent work and reduced working hours.”
And sharing resources, both physical and intellectual, would start to reverse years of hoarding, she says.
“Again, the idea being not hoarding the innovations and developments and expertise to extract cash but allowing all of us to share and that advancement.”
