Degrowth

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Discussions about degrowth and all sorts of related topics. This includes UBI, economic democracy, the economics of green technologies, enviromental legislation and many more intressting economic topics.

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Researchers make the case for shift from economic growth to human well-being within planetary limits (news.mongabay.com)

submitted 5 months ago by JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world to c/degrowth@slrpnk.net

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New research concludes that humanity would benefit more if it aims for ecological sustainability and stays within the limits of what Earth can provide, rather than pursuing relentless growth.
The success of capitalism depends on the push for growth, which requires the use of resources and energy, and comes at the cost of ecological damage.
Economists have proposed alternatives that focus on staying within a set of planetary boundaries that define the safe operating space for humanity.
The review, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, draws on more than 200 resources from the scientific literature.

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[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's fair. The question I always have is, Why? Why is this abstract indicator so important? It's routinely invoked like some kind of religious incantation, as some kind of obvious good, when it plainly has major limitations.

Why not instead use indicators that measure the concrete things we're really aiming for? Things like education, health, food security, environmental quality, etc?

The Human Development Index, to take the obvious example, is a much more meaningful indicator than economic growth. Imagine what might happen if we could persuade ourselves to judge everything by the HDI, and if politicians competed on their success at improving the HDI. All kind of possibilities would open up.