Miriam Kennet Green Economics Institute Director will be presenting a workshop in Paris in April at the Decroissance Conference on Degrowth - and exploring policies for political strategy and also examing the options for political measures.
One of the goals of the conference is to explore campaign tools for equity and sustainability Here is a forum to initiate the workshop on "proposal of political strategy and political measures"
This session is intended to explore the political space in which we find ourselves globally.
In the past the idea of Degrowth- or Lower Growth was a political suicide mechanism as most powers wanted a rapidly and ever increasing economy, which enabled them to spend future assets, safe in the knowledge that the human future would always bring increased wealth, an expanding economy and cheaper payment for goods received now- eg mortgages.
However things have changed rather over the last few months- I think as a combination- of fear that the economic and political climate of the 1920s is coming back, that the Stern Report and IPCC reports- and an assessment of what had been achieved since Kyoto, the early phase of the ETS having produced more carbon usage not less- and a lower carbon price rather than higher, and the evidence for dangerous climate instability, and catastrophic species extinction becoming overwhelming and accepted by and large by average people - those not involved in politics- Political Strategy and Political Measures
This session is intended to explore the political space in which we find ourselves globally. In the past the idea of Degrowth- or Lower Growth was a political suicide mechanism as most powers wanted a rapidly and ever increasing economy, which enabled them to spend future assets, safe in the knowledge that the human future would always bring increased wealth, an expanding economy and cheaper payment for goods received now- eg mortgages.
However things have changed rather over the last few months- I think as a combination- of fear that the economic and political climate of the 1920s is coming back, that the Stern Report and IPCC reports- and an assesment of what had been achieved since Kyoto, the early phase of the ETS having produced more carbon usage not less- and a lower carbon price rather than higher, and the evidence for dangerous climate instability, and catastrophic species extinction becoming overwhelming and accepted ,by and large by average people - those not involved in politics.
The earlier doom mongering of the limits to growth has also seemed to strike a cord in the publics consciousness at the same time as the European Union has adopted greening the economy as their own slogan and strategy aiming for eco innovation and attracting venture capital funds for this in competition with the US.
The Green Economics Institute and other bodies have been working to provide more secure intellectual foundations for such views- move them away from extremism and into the more mainstream arena. All this has happened at the same time as the global economy, has stalled, and has appeared to provide an example of expansionist tendencies- almost reminiscent of Rosa Luxemburgs descriptions over a century ago in Capital Accumulation.
The main reasons for the economies stalling appear to be actually rather different. In fact- the banks and borrowers became too optimistic and too in cautious -the global economy has become completely interdependent into a complex web, and the New Scientist has run an article this month - showing that complex interdependent webs- are actually extremely vulnerable- much more so than subsistence based civilisations, and that our complex society may have inherent weaknesses within its construction. By making money and the economy and investment part of this complex interdependency, it suggests are to be found the roots of its own destruction.
The most practical explanation is that more lending went on than was prudent- believing that such an economy could be fed by every increasing growth, which could repay debt. Therefore it was believed that " sub prime" lending was safe enough. However it has turned out that gearing was too high, assets in relation to lending were too low, and banks had been working in an environment of ever increasing growth and forgot that all economics systems experience periodic downturns.
Therefore now that such a downturn has arrived- the lending has abruptly halted and there is not enough liquidity to fund more growth. However one of the big engines of growth is China, and the BRICS. However part of their growth was fuelled by the US economy- now possibly admitting to be in recession, by the Head of the |Fed Bernanke. China also - the fastest growing economy -was hitting big problems in relation to equality of wealth inside its borders- keeping down democracy, and also environmental limits to what the human body can cope with in terms of pollution. It had also reached limits in terms of fuel availabilty, and this is also becoming true of lots of developing nations -South Africa's economy is currently experiencing 2 hours daily of power cuts- harming its rapidly developing businesses. The question of peak oil and gas and the question of limits to sensible creation of carbon are attacking the very fundamental building blocks of the thesis of continuous expansion and high mass consumption on which it is built.
To continue to consume more and more products to feed continuing GDP expansion is beginning to look unworkable. Certainly in the short term. Growth in GDP terms is stalling. Interest rates are rising. Unemployment in some countries is 25% and mortality in a country such as SA is 33 years average life expectancy.
Therefore the need to re examine our attitude to growth is becoming very clear to many people and far from being the political suicide note it was even last summer- its becoming an interesting message and policy makers are looking for a complete new paradigm in which it can work in a practical sense. Policy makers are looking for maintaining quality of life- possibly increasing it globally - but to decouple it from growth and consumption and are also looking at labour and capital intensity and productivity.
A change in the combination of these factors is the new area of interest. Without growth- how do we provide for the next generation, and can we leave enough for them and not harm the current generation, and also 1/5 of the current generation are still hugely undernourished- so how do we provide for them in an age possibly of no growth.? Does no growth mean human suffering -or can it conversely actually work better.? This workshop aims to explore the mechanics of how an economy under lower or no growth can prosper.... and how more people can do better in such a scenario - The time for justifying it has now passed- there has been much literature on that subject. The time for implementation has arrived- in fact the implementation of lower growth has arrived- and no one can really stop it- the US banks and Fed, Bush and Sarkosy, and Gordon Brown have all attempted to check the robustness of major bankers, but no one can stop the march of the lower growth economy - Bank Managers are all redesigning their products - in fact changing them weekly at the moment.
This workshop accepts that this inevitability has occured- and that the political community are now impatient to have the answers to how to manage such an economy and examines the practical workings of keeping a green style -lower growth -or Degrowth economy afloat......
Economies built on inequality and lack of comprehension of environmental and social factors are in trouble and this workshop presents ideas for moving towards economics sucess in this changed economic climate. Miriam Kennet, Director, The Green Economics Institute
Lower Growth Economics - Degrowth - the green solution for economic prosperity
