In which economists from the “influential organisation” (the OECD) which since the late 1990s has been powerless to stop the long term slide in economic growth in its own countries, exchange bullshit perspectives with the UK’s hapless Chancellor of the Exchequer, and everyone pretends that the game board of the 1990s is still the one we are on.

Can we at least agree to *try* #degrowth instead of this BS #postgrowth FFS?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rachel-reeves-oecd-economy-inflation-growth-b2831788.html

"Decoupling"? It's possible but extremely unlikely (authors being politic here); "the post-growth field suggests taking a precautionary approach, given the historical record and the rapid narrowing of the window to prevent ecological breakdown. Post-growth, it should be emphasised, does not state that decoupling economic activity from emissions and getting to net zero emissions is impossible, just that it is made harder by economic growth. For energy and material use, which can only be reduced and never brought to zero, the necessary reductions are easier to achieve with post-growth."

#DeGrowth #PostGrowth #Decoupling

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(24)00310-3/fulltext

Some choice quotes from new Lancet study on #degrowth or #PostGrowth and planetary health:

"Doughnut, wellbeing, and steady-state economics generally position their proposals within the current capitalist system, whereas degrowth is critical of the possibilities of an egalitarian slowdown within capitalism given that capitalist competition is structurally geared towards growth. Degrowth therefore emphasises the need for a planned, democratic transformation of the economic system to drastically reduce ecological impact and inequality and improve wellbeing. Degrowth, similarly to steady-state economics, regards a lower GDP as a probable outcome of efforts to substantially reduce resource use. Reducing GDP is not a goal of these approaches, however, but, it is seen as something that economies need to be made resilient to. The Doughnut and wellbeing approaches are more agnostic about GDP growth, but still view it as a poor measure of progress. Post-growth is plural and open to all these perspectives. All approaches converge on the need for qualitative improvement without relying on quantitative growth, and on selectively decreasing the production of less necessary and more damaging goods and services, while increasing beneficial ones."

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(24)00310-3/fulltext