“If your economy requires people to consume things that they don’t need or even want, and to do more of it each year than the year before, just in order to keep the whole edifice from collapsing, then you need a different economy” Jason Hickel
Historically, we have considered growth a positive thing, synonymous with job security/creation, being able to solve social problems like eradicating poverty, improving livelihoods etc, but growth has led to problems of global warming due to carbon emissions and extreme weather which in turn has created a loss of biodiversity and agriculture.
We have created a workaholic culture in which so many experience ‘burnout’ struggling to make ends meet because the benefits of growth are not evenly distributed and where self-worth is rooted in monetary value and owning “stuff”, this clearly doesn’t automatically equate to more well-being.
How can we address the problems of climate change and create lives with less stuff, less work and better well-being?
