In
many opinions, Western society has been in decline for decades (if
not centuries) but we do seem to be heading for the abyss at an ever
increasing speed.
Australia
is probably a reasonable reflection of what is happening elsewhere
(at least if the drivel in the newspapers and on television is any
guide.
There
is little real political choice when it comes to elections as all
party hacks scramble for the 'middle ground' In Australia there is
virtually nothing to choose between the Liberal/National coalition
government and the Labor opposition. Both have completely insensitive
and vicious policies on refugees and identical policies on defence
(which would better be described as aggression). They both endorse
anything required by the US.
Despite
claimed financial constraints unlimited funds are always found for
military adventures. Politicians are always happy to send young men
to fight, even if the wars are unwinable – such as afghanistan and
the current Middle East debacle.
The
whole IS fiasco is a result of the actions of the US, UK and
Australia in the Middle East following the intervention in
Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq and the destablisation of Libya and
Syria
The
whole system of western governments is dominated by economics. All
activities are reduced to a dollar value.
The
chase for ever-increasing GDP and all other financial indicators
locks us in to a perpetual spiral of booms and busts). There may be a
few years of growth between the cycles such as between the 1930's
depression and the recent so-called Global Financial Crisis –
brought about by corporate greed and political stupidity.
Continual
economic growth is not possible, but no politician is brave enough to
admit it.
Steady
State Economics presents a different view of how we could run the
world, instead of chasing the illusion of perpetual growth. It offers
the concept of an economy that is completely sustainable. A community
with a size and structure that doesn't grow, but remains stable to
match the limits of the natural environment and its resources.
Steady State Economics
presents a different view of how we could run the world, instead of
chasing the illusion of perpetual growth. It offers the concept of
an economy that is completely sustainable. A community with a size
and structure that doesn't grow, but remains stable to match the
limits of the natural environment and its resources.
Greed and self-interest led to the last global financial meltdown.
It was an inevitable result of Government policies, big business
demands, and mass gullibility. It will happen again (and again)
unless Governments, industrialists, commercial interests and
individuals choose a different path from the God 'growth'. The same
greed resulted in a pathetic and useless outcome from the climate
change talks in Copenhagen.
Traditionally, economics taught in our universities has been based
on an assumption that continuous growth is the only way to generate
a better life for everyone on the planet. It argues that growth will
raise living standards, lift people out of poverty whilst the cycle
of supply and demand will solve environmental problems and the
depletion of world resources. The classic view is that exponential
growth is good and fast growth is even better.
Advocates of steady-state economics dispute this view. One of the
first was John Stuart Mill in the 19th century and he has been
followed by people like Herman Daly who maintains that the economy
is a subset of our ecosystem. The global ecosystem is finite, a
closed system which cannot grow. Matter neither enters nor leaves
it. The ecosystem also provides the economy’s resources and a sink
for its wastes. Continuous growth forces a collapse in the ecosystem
which then becomes unable to support the economy and the community.
Some who question the current economic system, note that the ecology
of the planet is increasingly under pressure, with natural resources
such as forests, fish stocks, minerals and soil being depleted at
alarming rates. Land for food production is increasingly scarce and
pollution levels are making water and air unusable or unsafe.
