• Weekend read: The trouble with growth
Posted by Ron Robins on April 12, 2015
“A theme of particular interest is understanding what might be possible in advanced economies in the absence of economic growth and reductions in throughput.
Would these economies collapse without growth? Would mass unemployment result? Could the existing institutions — in particular, financial institutions — survive without growth, and if not, what sort of changes might be required? What would be the implications for economic growth of strict limits on throughput?”
—Weekend read: The trouble with growth, by Peter A. Victor and Tim Jackson, April 11, 2015, GreenBiz, U.S.A.
Commentary: Ron Robins
There’s no doubt — barring the economic extraction of resources from other heavenly bodies — that Earth’s resources are limited and that for economic growth to continue indefinitely is impossible unless Earth’s resources are used far more efficiently. If we’re to avoid wars and famines where countries and peoples plunder each others resources, there has to be a marked change in consumer behavior. How can this happen? Will scare stories and killer climate events cause the change in consciousness? Perhaps so, but a more humane way is best.
And the nature of that humane response is for governments, educational institutions, and companies encourage changes in individual and collective consciousness the like of which I’ve written about in many of my posts that include: The Missing Ingredient In Economics — Consciousness!; Cultural Creatives to Dominate in the Age of Enlightened Economics; and ‘Voluntary Simplicity’ Brings Higher Consciousness into Economics.
Enlightened Economics 
SimpleLivingOver50 said
Since the the housing bubble bursted and in 2008 many Americans were forced into situations where the precious money they earned was just about enough to cover the basics at that. Many of these same people learned a lesson about overspending and continue their minimal spending habits to put away enough in case this ever happens again. Minimalism is becoming very popular as we see so much written over the internet from social media to blogs. I am wondering if it should become the new norm what type of effects it will have on growth. But I see countries like China and India taking over the role of frivolous spending and am confident that the negative effects won’t be devastating for a world economy, but what about the U.S.?
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