Prosperity without growth

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Tim Jackson on his book Prosperity Without Growth - The Update at the Heinrich Böll Foundation , 2017

Prosperity without growth (Engl. Prosperity Without Growth ) is the title of a bestseller by economist Tim Jackson . The original English version was initially made available as a report by the Sustainable Development Commission in 2009 and published as a book in 2011. A second, expanded edition appeared in 2016. The corresponding German translations appeared in 2013 and 2017, respectively. The book is now considered a standard work in the field of growth criticism .

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The 2011 edition includes a foreword by the author with a brief description of the genesis of the work, further forewords by Jürgen Trittin (chairman of the Bundestag parliamentary group of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen ), Uwe Schneidewind (president of the Wuppertal Institute ) and Barbara Unmüßig (board member Heinrich- Böll Foundation ).

In the 1st chapter "The lost prosperity" Jackson approaches the research topic and question "Is prosperity possible without growth ?" With reference to numerous fundamental studies and publications as well as a discussion of the key indicators of gross domestic product (GDP), per capita GDP, population growth , Scarcity of resources. The following are statements on considerations of justice.

In Chapter 2, “Age of Irresponsibility”, Jackson explains the concept of debt and the differences between consumer debt, national debt and foreign debt and their development in the leading industrial nations in the 1980s and 1990s. He works out two groups of industrial nations. The liberal market economies and the coordinated market economies. In doing so, he contradicts the thesis that the main cause of the 2008 financial crisis was so-called toxic loans and loan products. In the author's opinion, the cause was all measures designed to stimulate economic growth. Above all, with the expansion of debts according to the principles of Keynesian monetarism and without taking into account the limitations of the material world in ecological terms.

In Chapter 3, “Redefining Prosperity”, Jackson would like to find a definition for prosperity and its connection with happiness. It is primarily based on the theses of the Indian economist and philosopher Amartya Sen in his essay "Standard of Living" from 1984 with the elements of abundance, utility and chances of realization. He examines the relationship between wealth and income and comes to the conclusion that there is a marginal utility ratio between the two .

In Chapter 4 he devotes himself to the “myth of decoupling” and shows that this promising solution approach, in view of the development of population growth and income / consumption, based on the Ehrlich equation, does not lead to a reduction in environmental impacts either in relative terms or in absolute terms can. Jackson counters the assumption that economic growth and climate protection can be easily combined with one another and thus refutes Nicholas Stern's approach in the Stern Report . According to the author, there is no scenario that a steadily growing population with growing income / consumption can combine with ecological sustainability .

Jackson explores the element of income and consumption in the following under the title “The steel-hard housing of consumerism” (Chapter 5). He identifies it as the engine of growth and examines it in the various forms of capitalism that arise. In the author's opinion, effects such as the rebound effect or the backfire effect also prove that innovation does not lead to automatic decoupling. Consumption is also identified as an element of the expanded self.

The Keynesianism and the " Green New Deal " as a solution strategy after the global financial crisis are examined and their impact and success until the publication of the book 2011th

In Chapter 8 “ Ecological Macroeconomics ”, Chapter 9 “Thriving within Limits” and Chapter 10 “A Government Model for Prosperity” the author deals with the theoretical questions of what a macroeconomy and a state and government model should look like in order to achieve a sustainable economy to be able to realize on the basis of the theses presented in the previous chapters.

These rather abstract and philosophical explanations, with repetitions of the statements made in the previous chapters, lead in Chapter 11 under the heading “Path to a sustainable economic system” to concrete proposals as to what an economic order with the premise “prosperity without growth” could look like. The basic approach consists in setting boundaries, repairing the existing economic model and changing social logic, especially in the area of ​​consumerism.

Jackson grants a glimpse into the future in Chapter 12, "Enduring Prosperity." He repeatedly contradicts the assumption that efficient capitalism can stabilize the climate and represent a solution for the scarcity of resources.

reception

The Frankfurter Rundschau sums up the book as follows: “ He [Tim Jackson] does not know exactly what a ' post-growth economy ' should look like, admits the Briton. But he mentions steps that the western industrialized nations should take: First of all, one must 'define a meaningful concept of prosperity' that is not based on growth. In addition, there is a need for increased investment in sustainable technologies and public goods as well as increased production of non-material services instead of goods. The reduction of working hours in order to limit production is also central. So that this does not lead to increased unemployment, Jackson recommends a radical redistribution of work. "

Die Zeit writes: “An exciting book that comes at exactly the right time. Because at least since the financial crisis - and perhaps even more now after the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan - many people have been asking themselves whether our current way of doing business is the right one. "

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  1. ↑ Book presentation: Tim Jackson "Prosperity Without Growth" , accessed on November 7, 2018.
  2. ↑ http://www.fr.de/wirtschaft/anders-wirtschaften-wohlstand-ohne-wuchs-a-925406
  3. ↑ https://blog.zeit.de/gruenegeschaefte/2011/04/08/die-aschenbrodel-wirtschaft-wohlstand-ohne-wachsen/