The Carbon Benefit of A Changing Economy
Posted on November 30, 2008
Filed Under What's New |
In Wednesday’s post I was mulling over Fred Hirsch’s 1970s book The Social Limits To Growth. This morning I was reminded of its importance to carbon reduction and the potential benefits of a changing economy. Let me put this in the widest possible context.
I believe society is changing for the better and has been for ten years. The changes that social technologies bring are also having an impact at the workplace. Work is becoming more democratic and creative and though we are at the beginning of this process the prospects of young people leading rewarding lives look better than ever. And yes it is a recession! I think it is more than that - it is a profound change and it will be felt mostly in attitudes.
Hirsch’s book resonated strongly for some of us back then but the general hypothesis infuriated politicians such as Thatcher and Reagan. Why is it important now?
Because many of us are sitting at home today thinking: when will we come out of recession? Or: when will the economy grow again?
If you bought into Hirsch’s thesis then you’d be asking: Is this a real turning point when we stop seeing growth as the only measure of progress?
It’s important because in one of the few interesting articles in today’s Sunday Times Professor Kevin Anderson is quoted as saying::
“The target set for the climate talks (Pre-Kyoto) was to keep global temperature rises below 2C. At the moment however the level of emissions is rising so fast that we are heading for a world that is 4 - 5C warmer than now by 2100. That would be catastrophic for the environmenet and humanity.”
Hirsch argued that the pursuit of luxury in modern society was a self-defeating process - because as people distinguish themselves and their experiences by creating rarity value (the 7* hotel for example), the pressure is immediately on to mainstream that experience, with serious consequences for the resources that make exceptional experiences worth having.
Neither leaders nor followers ultimately benefit in this psycho-social system. The acceleration of desire is a key process in our modern economy though - but that Chateau Petrus never was worth the £3,000 that some bankers paid for it and the process of supporting lifestyles that can go the £3,000 for a bottle of wine is ultimately destructive.
So you can see how these ideas infuriated Thatcher and Reagan who wanted highly incentivised individuals rather than rational ones.
Which brings us back to today’s Sunday Times.The Sunday Times has been one of the key drivers of an avaricious and envious culture. Today it asks will recession be good for the environment. Answer: undoubtedly in many ways. But a bigger question would be: can we make the necessary adjustments to how we feel rewarded and satisfied? or: Can we turn the clock back 30 years and re-start the limits to growth debate?
Can the Sunday Times change?
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