Understanding the insanity of the system and how we can change it: a reading list, part one
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“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” as the oft cited phrase goes. This can be applied to the system we live in that puts profit before people and the planet.
This overarching system - the ways we are coerced to operate from health to food to economics in accordance with a set of rules to form a unified whole - is no longer fit for purpose. Indeed it never truly was, as it was designed on inequality, overconsumption, extravisism and the pursuit of infinite growth at any cost.
We are working for a system that is not working for us or the planet we depend on.
What’s required, and is achievable, is a system that is not only working, but works for us, the many and the planet. Right now, however, we are trapped in a system that is propelling us further into peril as we push the boundaries of the planet to its limit. (And no one, not even Mother Earth, likes their buttons pushed.)
The encouraging news is that our economic system - a linchpin for the overarching unworkable system we are struggling with - can be transformed for the betterment of society, nature and the climate. The driver is that this economic transformation must happen if we are to avoid planetary and societal collapse.
Understanding how the economic system operates is complex. With this in mind, and to demonstrate why Greenpeace is looking at transforming the economic system for the benefit of the many and the planet, we have created a list of content from books to articles and videos. We are starting with the list below and in time we will publish more recommended reading, watches and listens covering the challenges, the flaws, the change blockers, the alternatives, the solutions and the dreams. And a recipe for vegan donuts.
The Limits to Growth
Published half a century ago, the message from Dennis Meadows, Donella Meadows, J?rgen Randers and William W. Behrens III in their book The Limits to Growth is more relevant than ever: nature cannot support our present rates of economic growth. The planet has a limit, and we have to respect that, otherwise we’re in trouble. Which, as you know, we are.
To Have Or to Be?
Staying in the 1970s, To Have or to Be? by Erich Fromm is a brilliant read on socioeconomic change. The book explores two modes of existence that struggle for the spirit of humankind: the having mode - material possessions, power, and aggression - and the being mode - love, the pleasure of sharing, and productive activity. Fun fact: Fromm’s writing helped inspire the European Green movement.
A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow
What would a sustainable, universally beneficial economy look like? "Like a doughnut," says Oxford economist Kate Raworth in this TED Talk. In her talk, book and on her website, Raworth explains how we can move out of the hole - where people are falling short on life's essentials - and create regenerative, distributive economies that work within the planet's ecological limits. The Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries is a playfully serious approach to framing that challenge.
Prosperity Without Growth
Sounds like an anomaly, right? Well, Tim Jackson sets out his argument for building a ‘post-growth’ economy. (Wait, what’s a post-growth economy? Here’s your answer.) In his book, Jackson sets out the dimensions of the task of achieving prosperity without growth: the nature of enterprise; the quality of our working lives; the structure of investment; and the role of money. He shows how the economy of tomorrow may be transformed in ways that protect employment, facilitate social investment, reduce inequality and deliver both ecological and financial stability.
This is part of our invitation to imagine an economic system founded on peaceful prosperity and planetary boundaries, and to explore our collective imagination in making the dream of an authentic, kind working system our reality.
Thank you for reading.
Markus Trilling is an EU Economic Advisor at the Greenpeace European Unit.
Editor in Chief at Baltic Press Ltd./Baltic Transport Journal
2 年I would also highly recommend late Mark Fisher's "Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?". It is a set of disturbing yet razor-sharp essays on why it is easier to imagine the crack of doom than the end of capitalism. Unfortunately, though Fisher was a keen diagnostician, he didn't offer much of a remedy. That said, the book is an excellent resource for developing the skill of picking up the moments when capitalism tries to internalise what is potentially a threat to its existence (e.g., when consumers can save the environment - they 'just' need to make the right buys). Likewise, Naomi Klein's "This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate," particularly the chapter on corporate capture of eco-organisations. Luckily,?Greenpeace?is one of the few trustworthy out there. Keep up the good work!