35 Comments
Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

While a positive concept which really appeals to me, it seems depressingly impossible to occur. I often think back to the dawn of Covid - if the world had truly acted as a community we could have seen it off in 3 months. However, the “what about the economy” and the parochial concerns about international competitiveness soon burdened us with decades of Covid waves. A direct shot into the left foot by the right.

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

For some time now, my response to the whole "Hard working folk, trying to get ahead" trope has been, "Trying to get ahead of who?"

This tends to perplex the utterer...

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

Onya Uncle Dave!

Book ends nicely for me this morning cheering your sage advice along with that of Max Rashbrooke who is writing about the circular economy and the pressing need to repair instead of just constantly replace those everyday items we all use.

Degrowth; the way to go bro!

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

For the campaign ahead I must pull out my Less is More T shirt purchased at the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion some years ago. Maybe wear it to the Labour Party conference?

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

Will we still be able to say, "Live long and prosper"?

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Feb 12, 2023Liked by David Slack

For a while now I've been plugging a new policy idea - pay disabled people the living wage and then leave them alone to find work that is worth-their-while. This is my definition of 'get ahead'. Not get ahead of the capitalist pack, but get ahead of the jarring ableist world of 'job ready' promoted by successive governments, but really championed by Luxon's entire empire. The thing is, it is still legal in Aotearoa to pay disabled people less than $5 per hour, because they are measuring worth in a capitalist sense. This is beyond bullshit isn't it? The most vulnerable people in our society literally priced. How did we get here? Degrowth conceptually moves past this kind of calculation, so it allows us to value things completely differently. Like connection, community, collaboration, and innovation. Ok, enough of the sermon. (My 12yo son is disabled and I am worried for his future - so forgive my passion) :-)

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Feb 11, 2023·edited Feb 12, 2023Liked by David Slack

As a microbiology technician I saw it every day at work. Initially the colonies grow exponentially, then slow because they use up all the available nutrients. Then it gets a bit nasty in terms of ongoing future happening.

Luxon et al are really peddling the same old horseshit and, because it is easier, people want to keep doing the same ole, not realising that we are in the "woop woop pull up" phase to reference a popular NZ saying.

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founding
Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

Three jeers for the Luxoneers, pulling hard for an empty future.

What requires constant growth? All I can think of are cancers. Humans peak at 35 years and then down the entropy hill we each begin to trundle. Even the stars fade to black eventually.

Great song. Got both sides of my brain firing this morning, you have. Thank you again.

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

One thing that really annoys me is that the Kiwi way to "work hard and get ahead" is to find a deposit on houses, then get tenants to pay the rest for you. Presumably retirement is funded by selling said houses at some stage and pocketing the untaxed capital gains. This is nothing but a straight transfer of wealth from those who must rent to those lucky enough to find a deposit or seventeen. It is impoverishing a huge section of our community and the acceptance of it is so ingrained that I can't see any government doing anything to stop it. I don't think it can be stopped short of a huge home building program by government on an emergency basis, something like the construction projects the US of A saw in Roosevelt's New Deal. Neither of our major parties has the will to do this. We basically need to build property speculators out of existence, but instead we are enriching motel owners. When will it stop? Will it be when our renting pensioners are housed in military style barracks, or even tents on their whanau back lawn? This is where growth has got us, but at least the Aussie banks are laughing.

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

makes perfect sense David. a pity that the MSM will never pick it up and run with it.

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

The ideas that still hold sway on those who are at the top of this pyramid structure that is our societies have been shown to be a danger if carried to their logical conclusion. Yet many still cling to them, in a sort of comfortable desperation. Odd I know, how can anyone be comfortable and desperate at the same time, desperate to the point of shutting out/shouting down consideration of alternatives such as degrowth. There are examples of it everywhere, everyday as people justify propping up the existing order. If that carries on we are headed for extinction our number -8,000,000,000- makes no difference.

Its better to realize there are limits, and problems that need addressing, than to ignore them or be overwhelmed into inaction and bickering. Maybe thats just me.

When will (what have become institutions) say OK its time we wound up our business. When will the majority of people say to themselves- I have to change my ways - will govt, business, banks get out of the way of allowing people to do that? Sure it will be messy, cause we've never done anything like this and on a scale so massive it will dwarf any deliberate endeavor undertaken by our species before.

That is the size of the problem we face, and what is at stake is our continued existence.

We have to think outside the confines of self interest, all of us.

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

I was very impressed with "Less is More" when I read it last year. One can always pick some holes in these "big" books as they tend to have a lot of examples and limited time to go into details. I believe NZ's "Well-being Budget" gets a slight nod, although to be honest I'm not sure we have 100% seen that come to fruition.

From what I have seen at least some critiques of the Degrowth movement focus on the likelihood any degrowing would not spread the costs and benefits equally - especially for the less developed nations. I thought Hickel addressed the possibilities for avoiding that but to be honest our record of global economic justice is not great and it seems massive efforts are required which might be beyond our current political structures.

My own understanding of economics is shaky so the following may be naive nonsense. But it has seemed to me that "Growth" is in many ways a fiction anyway (house price increases, insurance payments after natural disasters both appear to contribute to the "growth" of the economy), so I'd wondered if there's a risk "Degrowth" could also be fictional or performative without addressing the fundamental problems of overconsumption. Perhaps it's time for me to read the book again.

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

I'm thinking this all leads to "The Social Contract" idea... or some such... staying tuned for the next installment.

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Fuck those greedy bastards.

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

Goodness, next you'll be telling us that loving our neighbour will enrich us!

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Feb 11, 2023Liked by David Slack

I have two favourite quotes that speak directly to the mindset our society is locked in:

“If less is more, just imagine how much more, MORE would be.” (High Commander, Third Rock From the Sun “)

Q: “How much is enough?”

A: “Just a little bit more.”

I agree-we’re have to learn how much ‘enough’ is, but that’s hard when it’s hard wired into us.

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