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You are here: Home / Archives for consumerism

Cities and Green Orthodoxy

As the world has urbanized rapidly since 1950, per capita carbon footprint has declined, and so has carbon intensity in economic output, defined as the amount of energy used to produce a unit of economic growth.  But gross material throughputs and greenhouse gas production during this same period skyrocketed.  Global natural capital – fisheries, topsoil, freshwater supply, […]

Filed Under: Capitalism, Climate Change, Consumerism, Economic Growth and Degrowth, Environment Tagged With: climate change, consumerism, corporations, development, economic growth, globalization, sustainability, urbanization

What Indigenous Wisdom Can Teach Us About Economics

This blog is also available in Dutch, Greek, Italian, Russian and Spanish. The crises of the modern world verify what indigenous cultures have always known: that all phenomena are inextricably interconnected. As the Amazon – one of the most vital organs of the Earth – is razed to fuel the global economy, a virus borne […]

Filed Under: Climate Change, Coronavirus, Environment, Free Trade and Globalization, Indigenous worldview Tagged With: climate change, consumerism, corporations, development, economics, globalization, indigenous, localization, trade agreements

We Can’t Do It Ourselves

How to live a more sustainable life? This question generates a lot of debate that is focused on what individuals can do in order to address problems like climate change. For example, people are encouraged to shop locally, to buy organic food, to install home insulation, or to cycle more often. But how effective is individual […]

Filed Under: Climate Change, Environment, Inner transformation, Livelihoods and jobs Tagged With: climate change, consumerism, economic growth, economics, sustainability, systems thinking

The Real Economy

An essential element of a functioning community is that all roles are filled, that people individually and together do what is necessary for the success of the community. In this era of climate change and contracting energy resources, one important and potentially divisive issue is household roles. Many American households these days are just fueling […]

Filed Under: Climate Change, Food and Farming, Livelihoods and jobs, Localization Tagged With: community, consumerism, culture, economics, happiness, health, livelihoods, localization, well-being

Groomed to Consume

This blog is also available in Russian and Spanish. With Christmas coming up, household consumption will soon hit its yearly peak in many countries. Despite homely pictures of tranquility on mass-produced greeting cards, Christmas is more about frenzied shopping and overspending than peace on earth or quality time with family and friends. As with so […]

Filed Under: Consumerism, Economic Growth and Degrowth, Inner transformation Tagged With: community, consumerism, corporations, economic growth, happiness, mental health, sustainability

Degrowth: A Call for Radical Abundance

When orthodox economists first encounter the idea of degrowth, they often jump to the conclusion that the objective is to reduce GDP.  And because they see GDP as equivalent to social wealth, this makes them very upset. Nothing could be further from the truth. I reject the fetishization of GDP as an objective in the […]

Filed Under: Economic Growth and Degrowth, Environment, Livelihoods and jobs, Technology Tagged With: climate change, consumerism, degrowth, economic growth, economics, jobs, livelihoods

To Leave or Remain: Dichotomy or Distraction?

Ever since the Brexit referendum was first announced, we have been bombarded by an array of starkly contradictory pronouncements – from the Leave camp’s now infamous claim that withdrawal from the EU would release £350 million a week for the NHS to the former Chancellor George Osborne’s assertion that Brexit would leave the UK “permanently […]

Filed Under: Economic Growth and Degrowth, Free Trade and Globalization, Localization, New economy Tagged With: climate change, community, consumerism, corporate control, democracy, economic growth, globalization, localization, new economy, trade agreements, well-being

Reading Tagore to Become Human

In 1922, Rabindranath Tagore published one of his most important works, the play Mukta-Dhara. The story, rich in symbolism, is a simple yet powerful one. A child of mysterious birth is found abandoned by a mountain waterfall. He is adopted by the royal family and raised as the crown-prince, Abhijit. As he turns into a […]

Filed Under: Development, Economic Growth and Degrowth, Environment, Indigenous worldview, Inner transformation, Technology Tagged With: climate change, community, consumerism, corporations, democracy, development, freedom, happiness, indigenous

How smartphones are heating up the planet

When we think about climate change, the main sources of carbon emissions that come to mind for most of us are heavy industries like petroleum, mining and transportation. Rarely do we point the finger at computer technologies. In fact, many experts view the cyber-world of information and computer technologies (ICT) as our potential savior, replacing […]

Filed Under: Climate Change, Technology Tagged With: climate change, consumerism, corporations, pollution, technology

Cooking fresh for the planet

How often do you cook a meal from scratch? For 11% of British people, the answer is never. But subsisting entirely on processed food and ready meals is not only bad for your health, it is also bad for the planet. It makes little sense financially, either:  it is cheaper to create a meal using […]

Filed Under: Food and Farming, The Economics of Happiness Tagged With: agriculture, consumerism, farming, industrial agriculture, local food, localization, sustainability

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