35 Comments
Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

“Degrowth” has a very compelling logic. Maybe it’s because I’m an oldie on my Universal Basic Income (National Super) and I’m actually living a “degrowth” lifestyle.

Keep up the advocacy David. It’s an idea whose time is coming, accelerated, I’m hoping, by your persuasive columns.

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I think this is also the only way we get to gender equality. Imagine the impact a universal basic income, plus communally funded basic needs, would have on the safety and security of women and all vulnerable people. “Can’t afford to leave” would be taken off the table. Being a primary or sole caregiver wouldn’t mean poverty, or alienation, or silence. Think of all the people who would get to flourish.

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Back when I was an undergraduate (in the Dark Ages...) I pestered my professor in my economics course, asking why capitalism measured economic success ONLY through the simple math of credits and debits, gains and losses. I wanted to know why we have reduced it to a zero-sum game, and I asked him why we don't measure the economy using the REAL reasons why people work. He seemed very taken aback by my questions.

I asked why we only measure GDP, employment rates, property values, etc. Why don't we measure things like happiness, contentment, health, job satisfaction, pride of workmanship, education, security, and all the other things we seek in our "pursuit of happiness". He answered by saying that those were intangible things and couldn't really be measured. My retort was, "Hogwash. Of COURSE they can be measured." I'm still waiting for the day when we begin to truly factor these things into the measurements of our economy's success.

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

At the moment, after this disaster, there is a lot of talk about thinking long-term. David, you are providing the blueprint. X

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

Great series of posts, David, very informative and highly relevant. I think these should all be on your free list and distributed widely.

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

All great ideas. Now the problem is will people listen. Will media in all its forms treat ideas like this seriously. Or are we just going to see mindless people losing their shit noisily on public platforms because, well, it requires a change by all, including them. Its imperative we start doing stuff now!

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

Yes. Yes. Yes. Less is most certainly more! The continual growth brigade deny the physics of earths limits. I'm all for the concept of "enough", and there is, if we move on from our destructive experiment with capitalism.

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

If you are looking at the situation from "Below the Divide" this sounds pretty sweet. However, if you are looking down from "Above the Divide" this looks like an attack on your Freedom™ to be very wealthy and have all sorts of cool shit to play with.

Guess which side of the divide gets to decide on political direction?

Now you think, "Well, all the Below the Dividers (BtDs) have to do is get organised and vote for the New Way".

Unfortunately the AtDs have the money to say "Our (Old) Way is *The* Way" and are experts at buying politicians and swaying opinion.

They then drop the poison bait by saying "..and if you work hard enough in the Old Way, you BtDs can join the AtDs". In other words "Aspirational Advertising".

That is a mighty tempting message to someone who is struggling!

Change is pain. Who of the BtDs is up for more struggle than they already have to cope with?

How do you stop the AtDs from suppressing the changes that will put a crimp in their current, very enjoyable, lifestyle?

In Aotearoa New Zealand we probably have more AtDs than you think. Poverty stats run at about 15% The best estimate for living a comfortable lifestyle in NZ is about 40% (Roughly $96K/year combined income gives "comfort"). That's a big voting block who don't want to cramp their current style.

The 45% in between are being tempted by the "Work hard, get ahead, move up to the AtD side" message.

I'm not sure what it will take to move the direction.

Clever people please speak up.

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

What you are arguing for David, is what I think we used to have here, pretty much, in NZ back in 1965, when my family emigrated here from Canada....I was fourteen, and was able to go to university three years later, like anyone else who wanted to....because it was free...I remember my parents telling me that was one of the reasons they decided to come here, because they certainly could not have afforded to pay the fees needed for me to go uni back in Canada.

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

“For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to every one that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still.”

John Maynard Keynes wrote this about capitalism in 1919 - even he said continued economic growth of a capitalist system is unsustainable.

The 100 years he predicted is now up; time to embrace degrowth.

Onya again Uncle Dave!

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

oh but how good is to to dream and hope.

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

Excellent article. Must admit, I found it easy to ignore degrowth advocacy having heard the a dismissive “they want us all to wear hemp shirts and live in caves” response and not thinking it through. I’ll do my homework now though - what could it mean? Would we ever VOTE for this, though? Populism and ‘you too could be a millionaire like me’ seems to garner way more followers in the short term.

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

Very interesting. I think we do need to focus on some different less ofs and more ofs as a society. That requires government and business and industry to change, but what about us as individuals. Let’s keep talking about the many ways we can do things as individuals which collectively add up to a lot of change. Because people often feel and are disempowered and default to why don’t the government or the council do something. Here’s something to kick off, use your local community group on FB. Yes I know some of them are cesspits but a really diverse group of people look at them. Only do positive things like “ex place has really good prices at the moment” or “free fruit, stuff outside no 36”. If people ask for a loan of a tool or where to get something fixed if you can help, do. It’s just a small starting point but it keeps things local and positive and maybe builds connections.

There’s heaps more from engaging positively with local politicians to shopping for food at places other than supermarkets. Thinking caps on.

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Such a good article. And I don’t think I’ve been disappointed yet by a book you’ve recommended

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founding
Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

If only...

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Feb 18, 2023Liked by David Slack

Wonderful ideas for the betterment of all humanity and our planet. Never get them actioned or even accepted though, because there are just too many greedy bastards. Particularly those whose lust is for power and always elbow their way loudly to the front of any meeting bellowing angry demands for attention and instilling fear in the peaceful but passive majority.

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