Beyond Austerity and Beyond GDP Growth Another Economy
Beyond Austerity and Beyond GDP Growth: Another Economy is Possible JOHN BARRY PROFESSOR OF GREEN POLITICAL ECONOMY QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST GREEN PARTY COUNCILLOR ARDS AND NORTH DOWN COUNCIL
Welcome, sit back and relax Some intellectual health and safety instructions ‘Exaggeration is when the truth loses it temper’ ‘Don’t sit on the fence you’ll get splinters’ ‘Its easier to ask forgiveness than permission’ ‘Without vision, the people perish’ ‘Experts should be on tap, not on top’ “Activism is the rent I pay for living on the planet” (Alice Walker) Don’t read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly
Some opening thoughts “It’s good to be cynical, if you know when to stop. ” Aldous Huxley Lets change the recipe and make a different cake rather than fight for a larger share of the existing one Change the grammar, the rule of the game, the metrics, not just the language Democratising the economy, democratising economics Lets talk about the joy of tax ‘Without vision, there the people perish’
And some old school republicanism Those who love wealth better than liberty
The Importance of Ideas in a Crisis “Only a crisis actual or perceived produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable. ” Who said this? Not just keep your enemies closer than your friends but learn from them…. Need for analysis and new narratives
Setting out. . Economists are asked to comment in the media not because what they say about economics or the economy is true, correct, desirable or even plausible. Economists are asked to comment. . because they are asked. And the ‘economists’ we hear are neoclassical/capitalist economists I’m not one of those…I’m a green political economist But ALL forms of economics are political
Rethinking Economics Why, when we expect and value diversity in a democracy (i. e. different ways of organising society, different policies etc. ) do we accept there is only one way of thinking about and organising the economy? The imaginative and ideological domination of neoclassical/capitalist economics – almost ‘full spectrum ideological domination’ (from the pub to the classroom) Cynicism, passivism, despair…. usually masquerading as ‘pragmatism’ and ‘realism’… dominating our thinking about capitalism, and economic alternatives
Imagining an economics. . . and life, beyond orthodox growth “questioning growth is deemed to be the act of lunatics, idealists and revolutionaries” (Jackson, 2009: 14). Criticising economic growth is tantamount to a fundamental act of betrayal in modern societies, a public act of disloyalty to the modern political economic order. . . Almost as bad in terms of being a disloyal citizen, as questioning Ireland plc’s commitment to low corporation tax regime
The Problem: Capitalist economy is addicted to economic growth…and carbon Orthodox, undifferentiated economic growth as a permanent feature of the human economy, is a primary policy goal of most governments, desired by most political parties and regarded as ‘normal’ and desirable by most citizens However, there is a fundamental contradiction between continuous orthodox, undifferentiated economic growth and environmental, resource and pollution limits of the planet And…. economic growth is no longer improving people’s lives in the developed world And…economic growth manages and requires income and wealth inequality…it does not reduce inequality
Beyond Economic Growth Crazy eh? To argue against the very thing we are all told we need as a society and we all accept or think we need Economic growth – monetary measure of GDP, total economic activity in an economy including imports and exports Long story short – growth is positive up to a point, after a threshold – redistribution more important Growth is a structural imperative under capitalism and is the ‘one true policy of neoliberalism’… One people under growth. . . Forever. . . and whatever it takes to deliver it. . . .
Some examples Justification for education – to promote economic growth Justification for shifting education and research spending towards promoting STEM subjects – to produce a skilled workforce and promote entrepreneurship necessary for economic growth Justification for/of the arts and public support for the arts – to stimulate economic growth Turning a blind eye to US military planes landing at Shannon – to promote and protect economic growth Supporting illegal wars and occupations such as the one in Iraq – to protect the carbon fuel for economic growth Supporting TTIP . . Well I think you might know See a pattern? Orthodox GDP economic growth is the imperative, something seen as crucial, important, good, desirable necessary by the Irish state, political and economic elites …. . and most ordinary citizens (probably including most people here today) Enough already for feck’s sake!
Why be critical of growth? Sustainability reasons – climate change, ecological degradation, energy insecurity, resource depletion, resource wars and pollution; Equality reasons – economic growth under capitalism manages and reproduces inequality it does not eradicate it; Human flourishing reasons – beyond a threshold, economic growth does not add to and can reduce opportunities for human flourishing.
Sustainability…one planet living. . .
A Citizens’ Convention for a Post Carbon Ireland ‘An open letter addressed to all parties and candidates in General Election 2016 Friday, 12 th February 2016’ http: //www. postcarbonireland. org
Economic Growth: What Are We Measuring? �GDP: Total expenditure on all goods and services produced within a country �Adds to GDP: �Also adds to GDP: �Not included in GDP:
1968….
Economic growth, inequality and ‘trickle down’ economics. .
Growth and Inequality “Growth is a substitute for equality of income. So long as there is growth there is hope, and that makes large income differentials tolerable” (Wallach, 1972). “We are addicted to growth because we are addicted to large inequalities in income and wealth. What about the poor? Let them eat growth! Better yet, let them feed on the hope of eating growth in the future!” (Herman Daly, 1991)
Economic growth and inequality Socio economic inequality as driver of consumerism via status competition; Psychological and political economic significance of shame and status; Because inequality increases status competition, it also increases consumerism. People in more unequal societies work longer hours because money seems even more important. Economic growth manages and reproduces inequality, it requires inequality not reduce it
Inequality, status competition and consumerism More inequality • More superiority and inferiority • More status competition and consumerism • More status insecurity • More worry about how we are seen and judged • More “social evaluation anxiety” (threats to self-esteem & social status, fear of negative judgements
The necessity of scarcity and insecurity under neoliberal capitalism The ‘fact’ of scarcity, and associated notions of insecurity (job, body image, status) and ‘status anxiety’ (amongst others), are necessary features for the modern capitalist growth economy. There is never ‘enough’, only constant gratification without satiation ‘Perpetual scarcity’ in the midst of affluence and plenty Rather than democratically limiting (some) wants and meeting the needs of all through redistribution not growth Economic growth as our modern myth to live by and through which social order is sustained
We need to talk about consumerism…
Debt-based consumerism: ‘bread and circuses’ for the modern age Excessive consumption as the greatest WMD ‘Weapon of Mass Distraction’
We need to talk about carbon… It’s nonrenewable and the main cause of global climate change (carbon dioxide) Modern industrial civilisation under capitalism and its development model /orthodox economic growth, is utterly dependent upon it Name one thing in this room not made or transported without the use of coal, oil or gas? Also cause (potential or actual) of geopolitical instability – resource wars
Oil subsidies locking us into a carbon based energy and planning system
Other hidden subsidies for oil….
Rights to the ‘commons’: the political economy issue of this time Our modern commons Energy Water Health Transport Time Money Housing Food Democracy “The law doth punish man or woman that steals the goose from off the common; But lets the greater felon lose, that steals the common from the goose” 18 th Century English anti enclosure saying
Progressive Policy Suggestions A Basic Income: from the state to every resident without any means test or work requirement. Reduce the working week: more people working less, rather than less people working more. Shift from talking about employment to work – social economy, non monetary productive, economic activity. A Youth guarantee: all young people guaranteed a job, education or training. Democratising money creation: public rather than bank created money, quantitative easing for the people, state investment bank Democratising the workplace: Greater worker democracy and cooperatives
The Joy of Tax Beyond the low tax model in Ireland Beyond ‘taxes are bad’ frame Linked of course to government/ the state is a ‘drag’ on the economy
Our new flag? 12. 5%
Concluding comments From economic growth to social development and economic security From employment to work From income to wellbeing From consumption to democracy From electoral democracy to citizenship From the nation to the community From ‘Right 2 Water’ to ‘Right 2 Energy’, ‘Right 2 Food’, ‘Right 2 Transport’, etc.
An growth based economic system based on a fiction that serves the needs of a minority not the majority A money system based on a secret A political system based on clientelism, cute hoorism, centralised and where we don’t have democratic politics we have elections We don't have citizens but voters and taxpayers Elections as beauty contests about economic growth, money in your pocket, jobs and People want jobs, meaningful work, decent wages, health care, education, etc. Not necessarily ‘economic growth’ That is can we move beyond
The Challenge and Opportunity: Unreasonable thinking and action in turbulent times
Land Valuation Tax Kenny Report (1973), Report of the Committee on the Price of Building land (1973) Public recouping of value from private development profits due to public infrastructure
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