Lunatic economist of the day
IT’S always a little difficult going over and reading the dark side, the spouting of the ecoloons. For they’re so far from any connection with reality that it’s confusing trying to work out exactly what it is that they’ve got wrong.
For example, our friend here, seems to think that capitalism requires growth: it doesn’t. He also seems to think it requires markets: it doesn’t. He even name checks Adam Smith but then use the wrong book (Theory of Moral Sentiments is about philosophy, Wealth of Nations is about economics).
But we do have one quite gorgeous piece of nonsense:
This new economics could have as its new objective not growth for growth’s sake, not money or making markets our gods. Its aim could be to maximise the ecological efficiency of delivering to the wellbeing needs of today’s and future people.
It could seek not to rely on growth of the macro-economy. It could recognise the intrinsic value of the natural world with which we are so spiritually linked. It could once again make us stewards not dominators of nature.
It could be framed not by a drive towards efficiency but one of sufficiency and will require a values shift from extrinsic individualist vales to intrinsic ones which champion collective, greater-than-self solutions to sustainability challenges.
Isn’t that wonderful: we’re going to maximise efficiency by ignoring efficiency.
Well done that man.
Now, sadly, this isn’t some isolated loon scribbling in green ink to the vapours swirling through what passes for a mind. Oh no, it’s much worse than that:
Jules Peck works with companies on Flourishing Enterprise strategic innovation, is a trustee at think tanks the new economics foundation and ResPublica and chair of Edelman’s Sustainability Group; Jules is the co-author of Citizen Renaissance and was the director of David Cameron’s Quality of Life Review.
This is one of the people that actually has a measure of economic and political power over us.
No wonder we’re fucked, eh?
Posted: 9th, April 2012 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
