|
Is prosperity possible without growth?
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
April 19, 2011
The planet can’t handle perpetual economic growth and the economy can’t work without it. It’s a major conundrum, but one that must be resolved if we hope to sustain an ever-advancing civilization. Tim Jackson, economics commissioner at the U.K.’s Sustainable Development Commission, has studied this problem in depth. He can’t say a fully formed alternative economic model is readily available, but he does provide an outline for it in his book Prosperity Without Growth, Economics for a Finite Planet. A sustainable economy would include these measures…
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
More equal societies prove superior
Saturday, August 28th, 2010
August 24, 2010
Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett is a great book. The gist of it is that more equal societies — those where the difference in average incomes is less — are better in almost every way. The authors look at almost every social measure, from mental and physical health to violence and educational attainment, from social relations and teen pregnancy to imprisonment and longevity. In all cases, where there is a smaller gap between the average incomes of poorer and richer strata of society, people are generally healthier, happier, better adjusted, better educated and more socially cohesive.
Tags: ideology, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Recent Comments