Enough Is Enough
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2. Daly, Steady-State Economics (cited in chap. 4, n. 1), 17.
3. Herman Daly, “A Steady-State Economy: A Failed Growth Economy and a Steady-State Economy Are Not the Same Thing; They Are the Very Different Alternatives We Face” (U.K. Sustainable Development Commission, London, April 24, 2008), 2, http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=775 (accessed October 12, 2011).
4. Victor, Managing without Growth, 181 (cited in chap. 3, n. 14).
5. Joseph Spengler, “Adam Smith on Population Growth and Economic Development,” Population and Development Review 2, no. 2 (June 1976): 167–180.
6. John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy, rev. ed., vol. 2 (New York: P. F. Collier & Son, 1900), 264.
7. John Maynard Keynes, “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren,” in Keynes, Essays in Persuasion (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1932), 371–372.
8. De Villiers, Our Way Out (cited in chap. 6, n. 19), 7–8.
9. Henry David Thoreau, The Quotable Thoreau, edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2011), 466.
10. McKibben, Deep Economy (cited in chap. 8, n. 1), 1.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We could not have written Enough Is Enough without the support and contributions of many wonderful people. In particular, we would like to thank everyone who was involved in the organization and running of the Steady State Economy Conference. We are grateful to David Ads-head, Lorna Arblaster, Claire Bastin, and Nigel Jones, who undertook the challenge of organizing the conference, and who were instrumental in drafting the conference report. Very special thanks also go to the conference’s speakers and proposal writers, who provided many of the ideas described in this book. We thank Saamah Abdallah, Blake Alcott, Franny Armstrong, Molly Scott Cato, Ian Christie, David Fell, Tim Jackson, Victoria Johnson, Roger Martin, Mary Mellor, Kate Pickett, Martin Pullinger, André Reichel, Marco Sakai, Andrew Simms, and Peter Victor for their inspired contributions. And of course we would also like to thank the conference’s numerous facilitators, rapporteurs, and attendees, who contributed considerable expertise that we have tried our best to incorporate. The conference was made possible by a generous contribution from an anonymous donor and sponsorship from the Ecology Building Society.
Rob would like to thank Jen Yang for offering love, support, and logistical help throughout the writing process, which she did with grace, despite all the complaints she endured. Skya Dietz provided a major motivation for writing this book—her generation will face the profound environmental and economic challenges described in these pages.
Dan would like to thank his housemates (past and present) for accommodating endless hours of writing in the dining room, and his parents (Nancy and Michael O’Neill) for their love and support. A special thank you also goes to Mireia Pecurul and John Davis for their friendship, advice, and many late-night discussions.
It’s unusual to think of an economist as a hero, but this is how we see Herman Daly. His lifelong effort to develop the concept of a steady-state economy inspired us to write this book and to promote the goal of a sustainable and fair economy. Brian Czech (the founder of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy) provided encouragement for this project, and set the example of persistence needed to see such a project through to the end.
We would also like to thank Polyp for his cartoons, which provide much-needed art and humor throughout the book (see polyp.org.uk for many more). We are grateful to Dave Abson, Tim Foxon, Austin Bruce Hallock, and Jessica Osorio for reading the manuscript and for providing keen editorial advice that helped us say what we wanted to say more clearly. We also thank Aashish Khullar for helping with the early research.
Publishing a book, especially for the first time, can be a trying process. We are grateful to everyone who offered advice on how to navigate the publishing world, and we want to recognize Neal Maillet and his colleagues at Berrett-Koehler for their spirit of collaboration, for shepherding our book through to completion, and for believing in us and our ideas. Finally, we thank all of our family members, friends, and colleagues who have supported our efforts over the years to explore and promote the idea of a steady-state economy.
ROB DIETZ, Corvallis, Oregon, United States
DAN O’NEILL, Leeds, United Kingdom
INDEX
Page numbers in bold indicate figures or tables.
Abdallah, Saamah, 120
advertising, 96, 159, 162, 171
limiting, 163–164
Africa, land grabs in, 180–181, 183, 184
agriculture, 36, 181, 188, 200–201
Alcott, Blake, 127, 131
Ames, Ruth, 91
Annenberg, Walter, 100
Argentina, 134, 144
Armstrong, Franny, 171, 172
Attenborough, David, 73
Atwood, Margaret, 167
Australia, 115
bailouts, 104, 110, 111
Bandura, Albert, 84
bankruptcy code, 151
banks, 103–104, 105, 110, 111, 145
and debt-free national currency, 106–107
banning, as throughput-limiting strategy, 64
Bartlett, Albert, 75
BerkShares, 108
Berry, Wendell, 6–7, 169
Bhutan, 113–115, 117, 121
biodiversity, loss of, 19, 20, 20, 62, 79, 130
biofuels, 68
biosphere. See ecosystems
Bismarck, Otto von, 180
Borlaug, Norman, 36
Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge, 7–8
Boulding, Kenneth, 15
BP corporation, 52, 142, 144
Brazil, 120, 121, 144
Bretton Woods, United Nations financial conference held at, 109, 111
businesses: and community interest companies (CICs), 149–150
and cooperatives, 95, 97, 148–149
and limits to growth, 148–150
and new measures of success, 150–151
and “right-size” profits, 150–151
service-based, 146–147
and shared value, 146–148, 152
and shareholder-owned corporations, 141–142, 148, 151, 152
and social return on investment, 151
Canada, 82, 121, 144
Victor’s economic model of, 47–50, 48, 49, 50
cap-and-share schemes, 65–66, 66, 68
capital flight, 187
Capital Institute, 106, 110
carbon dioxide (CO2): cap-and-share scheme for managing, 65
concentration of, ix, 21, 23–24, 38, 48
emissions, 39
Carson, Rachel, 139
Carter, Jimmy, 169–170
Cato, Molly Scott, 106
Center for Biological Diversity, 79
Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE), 9, 54
position statement of, 54, 170, 173
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 31
China: coal used in, 179
consumer marketing in, 159
gross domestic product (GDP) ranking of, 120, 144
happiness indicators in, 121
and land deals in Africa, 181
population growth in, 80
citizen’s income, 94
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 135–136
civil rights movement, 96–97
climate change, ix, x, 4, 6, 19, 20, 20, 23, 24, 46, 48, 171
coal production, 23, 39, 179
Cobb, David, 152
Cobb, John, Jr., 16, 118
Cohen, Joel, 34
Collins, T. D., 152
Colombia, 142, 144
colonialism, 180
community interest companies (CICs), 149–150
complex systems, predictions for, 33–34
computer technology, 40
conservation of natural areas, 67–68
consumerism, 134, 143, 157–160, 197
alter
natives to, 160–165
consumption, stabilization of, 134, 199. See also overconsumption
contraception, 79, 80, 81
cooperatives, 95, 97, 148–149, 197
copper mining, 141
Corporate Health Consultants (CHC), 15–16
corporations: revenue of, 144–145
shareholder-owned, 141–142, 148, 151, 152
socially responsible, 147, 150
Costanza, Robert, 174
Costa Rica, 117, 120, 121 currency. See money
Czech, Brian, 8
Daly, Herman, vii–viii, 8–9, 16, 43, 45, 63, 64, 66, 100, 118, 169, 174, 198, 199
debt: compared to GDP, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 50
and debt-free national currency, 106–107, 110
increase in, viii, ix, 4, 100, 102, 104
and limits to growth, 106
money system based on, 103–104, 111, 143, 206
decoupling, as growth strategy, 37–39
DeFazio, Peter, 169–170
degrowth, 53, 118, 173, 184–186, 185, 189, 195
democratization: of international organizations, 189
and money creation, 107
in the workplace, 94–95, 97, 137, 197, 200
Denver, John, 113
Depression, Great, 135, 158
de Villiers, Marq, 78–79
diversity, biological. See biodiversity, loss of
dollar, U.S., as reserve currency, 108–109
Dow Jones Industrial Average, 117
ECO City Farms, 128, 131
economic scale, 32–37, 40–41, 55, 185, 185, 186, 190
economics: and economic scale, 40–41
and environmental protection, 182
and free market, 189–190
and Kuznets curve, 182
and maximization of personal gain, 91
and resource management, 62
students’ attitudes toward, 43–45
ecosystems: conservation of, 67–68
economic scale aligned with capacity of, 184, 185, 186
employment opportunities for restoring, 137
extinctions of species in, 4
impact of economic growth on, 18–25, 19, 20, 21, 28
impact of economic inequality on, 90
impact of financial system on, 105
impact of population growth on, 74, 78
loss of biodiversity in, 19, 20, 20, 62, 79, 130
“right-size” profits as benefit to, 150–151. See also climate change; footprint, ecological
Ecuador, 117
education, 51, 80–81, 107
efficient allocation of resources, 46–47
Ehrlich, Paul, 36
Elgin, Duane, 160
Elliott, Larry, 49
employee-owned companies, 95
employment: and economic growth, 28, 136
and flexibility, 130
and guaranteed jobs, 134–136
and labor productivity, 51–52, 129–130, 131, 133–134
and market vs. societal needs, 130
and retirement, 132
and steady-state economy, 51–52, 130, 131, 132, 134, 136, 197
and sustainability, 128–129
and work–life balance, 132–133
and work-time reduction, 51, 131–134, 136, 137, 197
energy use and supplies, 18, 22–23, 24, 37, 40, 137, 201
enough vs. more, x, 4–5, 15–16, 41, 54, 165, 190
environment. See ecosystems
equality, economic, achievement of: and citizen’s income program, 94
and cooperatives, 95, 97
and employee-owned companies, 95
and fair distribution of wealth, 46
and gender equality, 95
and income ceiling, 94
and pay-scale ratios, 95
and social action, 91, 96–97
social benefits of, 92–93
and taxation, 93–94, 95
and throughput-limiting policies, 68
and workplace democratization, 94–95, 97
Ethiopia, 84–85
euro, as reserve currency, 108–109
European Commission, 116
Exxon Mobil, 142, 144
fair distribution of income and wealth, 46, 68, 91, 195
fair earthshare, 186
fair-trade movement, 189
Farley, Joshua, 8, 100
Faulkner, William, 88, 97
fertility rates, 76, 77, 79, 80
financial system, 4, 24–25, 51, 104–106, 109–110
international, 108–109
and restructuring of financial institutions, 106, 109–111, 196
Finland, 142, 144
food security, 36, 181
footprint, ecological, 21, 21, 52–53, 61, 74, 78, 119, 122, 150, 184, 186, 200
Ford, Henry, 142
fossil fuels, 22, 68
France, 110, 116–117, 120, 144, 183
free-market economics, 189–190
Friedman, Milton, 111
Friedman, Thomas, 22
Fuller, Buckminster, 152
Fullerton, John, 99–100, 105–106, 110, 111
gender ratio, 80, 95
Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), 118, 119, 120
George, Henry, 62
Germany, 120, 121, 144, 149, 150, 180
Gilding, Paul, 161
Global Footprint Network, 33
Global Population Speak Out, 85
Goodall, Chris, 39
Grantham, Jeremy, 24
greenhouse gases, 4, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 50, 179. See also carbon dioxide (CO2)
Green Revolution, 36, 40
gross domestic product (GDP), 114–120, 119, 123–124, 142, 143, 144–145, 150, 168, 195
compared to government debt, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 50
compared to measures of happiness, 25, 26, 27, 37
compared to population growth, 18
and economic modeling, 48, 48–49, 49, 50
and material use, 37, 38, 39
as measure of economic growth, 17–18
and steady-state economy, 45, 47, 116
gross national happiness, 114–115
growth, economic: desirable vs. undesirable, 185, 185–186
and economic scale, 33
ecosystems impacted by, 18–25, 19, 20, 21, 28
GDP as measure of, 17–18, 18
and growth imperative, 106, 137, 142–143, 148, 197
and instability, 197
and international relations, 181–184
and news media, 167–169, 170
politicians’ advocacy of, 169–170
and resource depletion, 21, 22, 33
social failures of, 25–29
growth, economic, limits to: and distribution of wealth, 46
and economic models, 41, 62
and employment, 136
and international cooperation, 188–189
politicians’ attitudes toward, 169–170
popular support for, 70, 172–173
and reform of businesses, 148–150
and technology, 36–40. See also degrowth
Hamilton, Clive, 157
Hansen, James, 24
happiness, achievement of, 161
happiness, measurements of, 25–26, 26, 27, 37, 114–117, 198
and Happy Planet Index (HPI), 119–120, 121
Harvard University, 44
Hawken, Paul, 193
Heath, Chip, 159
Heath, Dan, 159
Heinberg, Richard, 22
homelessness, 148
human rights, 78, 134
immigration, 79, 80, 82–83
income gaps. See inequality, economic
India, 120, 121, 134, 144, 179
inequality, economic: and behavioral models, 90–91
Faulkner on, 88
increase of, 28, 46, 88–90
and international relations, 181–184
and population growth, 78
protests against, 91, 96
>
social benefits of overcoming, 92–93
social problems caused by, 28, 46, 90, 90. See also equality, economic, achievement of
inflation, 107
international cooperation, 12, 69, 186–187, 188–189, 190, 198
international currency, 108–109
international development, 181–182
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 150–151
International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE), 174–175
international trade, 35, 183–184, 186–187, 189
investment, in steady-state economy, 51, 67, 107, 151, 195, 201
I-PAT equation, 77
Ireland, 142, 144
Israel, 142, 144
Italy, 120, 132, 144
Jackson, Tim, 10, 31, 37–38
Jamaica, 120, 121
Jansson, AnnMari, 174
Japan: coal used in, 179
economic equality in, 93, 94, 96
gross domestic product (GDP) ranking of, 120, 144
happiness indicators in, 115, 121
population density of, 75, 76
population growth in, 76
Jevons, William Stanley, 39
jobs. See employment
Johnson, Willie, 87–88, 96, 97
Kahan, Dan, 172
Kennedy, Robert F., 113, 115, 124
Keynes, John Maynard, 28–29, 109, 203
Kohr, Leopold, 189, 190
Kramer, Mark, 147
Krueger, Anne, 27, 46
Kuznets curve, 182
labor. See employment
labor productivity, 51, 129, 131, 133–134, 137, 195
labor unions, 131, 132, 167
land grabs, in Africa, 180–181, 183, 184
Lao Tzu, 3
Lebow, Victor, 158, 162
Leonhardt, David, 118
Leopold, Aldo, 67–68
Lewis, John, 149
local currency, 107–108
local production, 186–188
Louderback, Isaac, 135–136
low-carbon economy, 40, 107, 201
Lucas, Caroline, 170
Maddison, Angus, 17, 18, 22
Malet, Edward, 180
Mali, 79, 80 Mankiw, N. Gregory, 40–41
marketing, 159, 162, 163–164, 172, 183. See also advertising
markets: and free-market economics, 189–190
and steady-state economy, 47
Martin, Roger, 81–82
Martínez-Alier, Joan, 174
Marwell, Gerald, 91
Massachusetts, 108
mass media: and population stabilization efforts, 84–85
pro-growth messages in, 167–169, 170
material flow analysis, 59–61, 68