from masterresource
Author: Robert Bradley Jr.
“Degrowth is when governmental authoritarianism overwhelms the natural impulse of human progress. Marcus Feldsuth of Copenhagen Business School needs to re-educate himself about ends and means to at least give his students an understanding of life and the joy of living it side.
No growth (stagnation) is bad enough. In business, every promotion must be balanced by a demotion or retirement. If one person buys too much, the other must buy less. Charity is not, a zero-sum game that leads to demoralization and infighting, which is the opposite of charity through abundance.
take another step back negative and games. There are more losers than winners. Survival of the fittest. The word depression refers to rising expectations being replaced by despair.
Less is not more, but less. Less convenience, less leisure, less security, and less charity to others. With incentives stymied, desperadoes look to government to intervene at the expense of others. French economist and classical liberal Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) wrote in 1848:
… It is a well-known fact that the State cannot satisfy the wants of some without increasing the labor of others…. The nation is a great fictional entity where everyone seeks to survive at the expense of everyone else.
It is the government, not the market, that needs to “grow”. This is another topic.
“Planetary Boundaries”
What are the latest ideas and propositions of the degrowth movement? A social media post from Marcus Feldthus, whose self-described mission is to “build a post-growth business that pursues sustainability,” provides an update. His website promotes an online course, “Aligning Business with Planetary Boundaries,” based on four commandments (verbatim):
- Why green growth is not delivering results fast enough.
- How inequality and ecological crisis are connected.
- Corporate examples of what goes right and wrong about sustainability.
- How to start implementing a post-growth mindset in your business.
He urged his students to “start discussing your company’s assumptions.”
Not to grow, to grow… Ouch! Call Julian Simon!
Feldthus continues to focus on environmental issues (copied verbatim):
- assuming you can Decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth fully Implementing the Paris Agreement (no evidence of this happening)
- Assume some New technology will magically appear And to address the first point (technological optimism ignores that hope is not a strategy)
- Assuming climate change is the only problem (When there are 8 other planetary boundaries)
- hypothesis Stable energy and material prices (When energy consumption increases)
- hypothesis Improvements in energy efficiency lead to absolute reductions in energy and materials In a growth-based system (the money you save, you use to increase output and make more money, which offsets the initial savings – also known as the rebound effect)
- Assume you can Recycling escapes ecological crisis (The second law of thermodynamics explains why this is impossible)
- hypothesis The service has no or negligible ecological footprint (The service industry cannot completely replace the material sector)
Marcus Feldthus sees hope and motivation:
Degrowth is becoming mainstream. Coverage: United Nations, Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Ernst & Young, BBC and Bloomberg Festival. As something worth exploring, not ridiculing. Here’s a quote for everyone 👇
Bloomberg Festival: Ted Talk by Gaya Herrington
“Our choice is not whether to continue to grow. But whether the end of growth is intentional or catastrophic. Either we choose limits, or we let them be forced upon us.
Harvard Business Review:defend degradation
“At the heart of the degrowth argument is the historical fact that economic growth and emissions are closely linked (…) To realistically address the fundamental challenges of growth, we must adjust our cultural assumptions and reconfigure unsustainable business models.”
a rapporteurOlivier De Schutter: Beyond growth to end poverty
“The “Future Contract” should clearly mention the shift to a backward growth and development trajectory, focusing on the realization of human rights rather than increasing the overall level of production and consumption.”
new york times:Shrink the economy and save the world?
“Less than twenty years ago, economists like Herman Daly who advocated a “steady-state economy” were so idiosyncratic that his fellow economist Benjamin Friedman could claim that “in effect No one is arguing against economic growth per se. Yet today, an emerging “post-growth” and “de-growth” movement is doing just that—in journals, podcasts, and conferences.
Ernst & Young: new economy
“These concepts appear to be organized under many different frameworks (e.g., donut economics, beyond GDP, ecological economics, degrowth and regenerative economics), but they share a common vision that is based on human and An economy based on a prosperous planet. We recommend that they also identify five guiding principles that are fundamental to accelerating this goal.
British Broadcasting Corporation: Less is more: Can Degrowth save the world? Author: Alvaro Alvarez Ricciardelli
“A group of academics and activists are questioning the possibility of endless economic growth on a finite planet. Instead, they are advocating a bold solution: degrowth.
And, if you’re wondering what this shift means for your business, I’ve just launched a beginner’s guide. It's called “Business After Growth 101.”
Final comments
Degrowth is the ultimate solution to modernity. It is an anti-human philosophy based on the belief in stagnation and decline due to too many people. Remember Paul Ehrlich?
Degrowth is a fringe movement in deep ecology. It supports deindustrialization and therefore welcomes high energy prices and energy rationing, even blackouts.
Degrowth is when government authoritarianism overwhelms the natural impulse of human progress. It lurks high up and its truth must be exposed. Copenhagen Business School's Marcus Feldsuth needs to re-educate himself about ends and means to at least give his students an idea of life and the joyful side of life.
Relevant
