Degrowth - three things to learn about the economy and the stories told about it
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Degrowth - three things to learn about the economy and the stories told about it Annukka Berg Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE Mainio Social, 8th October 2013
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Transcript of Degrowth - three things to learn about the economy and the stories told about it
Degrowth - three things to learn about the
economy and the stories told about it
Annukka Berg
Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE
Mainio Social, 8th October 2013
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● During the past quarter of a century, the world economy has doubled
● We consume resources worth 1,5 Earths
● More than half of the ecosystem services such as fresh water and fisheries are over-exploited
● The extinction of species 1000 fold compared to the average rate in Earth’s history
The ecological crisis in a nutshell
The overshoot0
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Why we need a Plan B?
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● Ecological reasons: the overshoot
● Social reasons: the decreasing capabilities of growth to contribute to personal well-being/happiness in affluent societies.
● Economic reasons: Lessons to learn from the lengthy downturn/economic crisis?
Three reasons for economic re-thinking
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● What if it will/has already become too difficult/unappealing to maintain the ”economically sustainable” levels of growth?
● The connection between growth and the ”healthiness” of economy taken for granted. Should it be so?○ E.g. John Stuart Mill expected steady state to be the
mature state of the economy
● What if we will experience new inconvenient surprises?○ E.g. the relationship between oil reserves and stock
markets
Key questions
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The potential and risks of experimenting
2. Towards a degrowth economy?
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● Critical view towards growth-BOUND economy and culture
● NOT necessarily a strategy towards down-turn economy
● Economy as a human system that can be changed by human deeds and political decisions
What is degrowth?
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● Surprisingly common○ Environmental but also social and economic reasons
● Focus at the exploitative characteristics of the current economic system○ Economy as a ”second nature”
● Contradiction: critique co-exists with wide acceptance of growth as a societal goal in different spheres and levels of society○ Alternatives poorly defined
Growth critique in Finland
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● Stories a basic human way to comprehend phenomena○ Structure: beginning, middle and end○ E.g. scenarios, premises and conclusions
● In complex and uncertain situations, rules of thumb on ”what will happen” play important roles○ The story of growth-bound economy a strong one
● Critique = non-story○ Increases complexity and uncertianty○ Growth-critique and the incomplete degrowth story add
to the pressures to retain the dominant growth story
A narrative perspective to economy
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3. Telling a new story
A story: sustainable non-growth scenario (Peter Victor)
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● Constructing stories○ Macro-economic scenarios, solution-oriented policy
studies, how-to guidelines to policy-makers…○ Novels, plays, installations…
● Experimenting and pioneering○ Creating symbolic embodiments of alternatives
● Powerful ”one-word stories”○ No explanations needed
● Re-telling the reality around us
An agenda for change
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● Homo oeconomicus an insufficient story about (economically-relevant) human behaviour○ We do not always seek to maximise our ”utility”
● Consumer research: habits, feelings, moral considerations and various social pressures powerful drivers of behaviour
● Downshifting at work:○ Parental leaves common and cutting hours popular○ Many of the small enterprises unwilling to grow○ Every third Finn works voluntarily
It is already happening among us!
