Herman Daly is recognized as a pioneer in Environmental & Social Economics, and I’ve reviewed his work in these pages before. Recently he submitted a paper “Toward a Steady-State Economy” to the UK government’s Sustainable Development Commission outlining and explaining the 10 public policy steps needed to achieve such an economy. The whole paper is essential reading for those wanting an understanding of the current economy, why it is not sustainable, and what is required to make it so. The 10 steps in a nutshell (I’ve altered and added to his words to explain technical terms):
It’s an interesting list, but Daly has acknowledged that he’s not optimistic that governments and those who would have to cede power to achieve these policy changes will ever voluntarily agree to such economic (and political) reforms, or that they could collaborate and do so even if they were so inclined. I share his pessimism. People with wealth and power simply don’t give it up without a fight, and I know of few governments that would have the heart for such an ‘unpopular’ fight. Nevertheless, even though it’s probably impossible, it’s interesting to know what we would haveto do, top-down, to achieve a truly sustainable global economy. Category: Alternative Economies
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BTW, thanks to The Oil Drum for publishing this paper.
All good ethics. However, I think that in many respects, the approach is 180º reversed from what would be effective.I think there’s an engine that’s missing which would make all of these hopes and dreams work properly – which undergird these models. Let me draw up an analogy. Think about children being raised by parents. It is not cool to raise children in a way which involves a rule-bound, authoritarian style of parenting. Rather, you have to help those children come into their own – and pursue their own aspirations and visions for their lives. The ethics you teach them are for their own benefit. Their lives will be better, if they live them ethically. Government regulation can often become like the authoritarian parent. In the usa, folks revere “the free market” – because it’s more like allowing people to put together their own future with their own hands, and with their own vision.Another idea I was writing about today elsewhere on the net was the idea that government should be designed not to take a place in a heirarchy where it controls a society – but instead it should be facilitating those people in that society. Ideally, government ought to be a small thing. Really, a society does what it does day in and day out with government as a peripheral thing. People themselves interact with eachother, and go about their daily lives – and those actions are the fabric of that society. How often does government come into the picture? Not often. So, an image that came to mind today for me is the idea of a hand and a glove. The glove is made to fit the hand… and the best kinds of gloves don’t get in the way of folks’ dexterity. So here, I envisioned an ideal government being like a glove upon the hand of the society. The society is the important thing, and the government is tailor made to fit the needs of that society.So, a summary of my thoughts is that one has to work to nurture one’s society; you have to work to further the self-interest of the people ofthat society. And you have to encourage people and facilitate their pursuit of the hopes and dreams which would fulfill them.I really condensed my thoughts here, Mr. Pollard, because I realize you probably will understand what I’m saying here, and how it refers to the thrust of your weblog entry, and to the thrust of Herman Daly’s essay. This is not a comment which is pressing some disingenuous simplistic idea. Yes, I am talking in generalities, but this generality I’m bringing up I think provides some good contrast to your thrust. It’s a major concern of mine when I see a person such as yourself who has these amazing ideas, and yet I notice that the approach he is proposing would not be effective, in my estimation.My suggestion is that if intellectuals such as yourself would strategize to create a mainstream media organization in Canada, you could teach ethics, and provide ideas about sustainable economies. I think that media would be a better avenue for helping your society, than trying to get your government to institute policies which regulate actions.
Thanks for the heads up. You’re back to making sense again.