Tag: economy

Community Stewardship and Living

The Story of Stuff


Leonard, a self-described “systems thinker,” aims to debunk the entrenched “growth at all costs” model. She does so by discussing the materials economy and its underlying paradigm of economic growth, but opts to not lay the blame with individuals or inspire feelings of guilt. … Readers, however, should not be misled by her bubbly prose: Leonard gets to the heart of serious subjects and exposes the inter-connectedness of today’s consumption, environmental, social and economic crises.
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Around the Web

Deep Economy

For McKibben, there are three fundamental challenges to Western society’s fixation on growth, which taken together deal an absolute knockout blow to Adam Smith’s claim to fame. First, there is the political argument concerning the glaring economic inequalities that are inherent in capitalism’s dark side. Continue reading Deep Economy

Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy
Books and Resources, Business and Economics

Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy

Perhaps it is the economic crisis. Maybe it is climate change, soaring extinction rates or the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. Or then again, it could simply be the nagging sense among more and more people that the human project has somehow gone awry. Whatever the case, in recent years, we have witnessed an explosion of popular interest in books that question, even excoriate, the most fundamental assumptions of our current, growth-at-all-costs economic system. Continue reading Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy

Community Stewardship and Living, Energy, Law, Policy, and Standards

Managing Without Growth: Slower by Design, Not Disaster

In his newest book, Managing Without Growth, York University professor Peter Victor makes a convincing case that rich nations, such as Canada, can abandon economic growth as a national goal without compromising their citizens’ happiness. He suggests that helping developing nations approach the Western world’s standard of living would provide a better and safer future. Continue reading Managing Without Growth: Slower by Design, Not Disaster