This is the first in a series of interviews that will accompany a book I’m writing, that will be published by Chelsea Green – an employee-owned company, and part of the new economy that the book is describing, built around a mutual credit core. Here’s more on the book deal and here’s some introductory information about mutual credit. Read more …
Steady-state economics articles
Do energy-saving measures actually increase overall energy use?
Having worked in the environmental field for 30 years, I’ve watched the situation get worse every year, to the point that it might already be irreversible, and we don’t know what damage it’s going to do to us, exactly. That’s pretty insane, and so Read more …
WWF shocking report on wildlife, and why the response will be inadequate
It’s been a while since wildlife—not just a species here or there but wildlife at large—has been front and center in the news. Usually the biggest environmental news pertains to climate change at the global level, or local pollution problems such as lead in the water pipes. “Biodiversity” gained traction as an issue in the 1990s, but seems to have slipped off the public’s radar. (When’s the last time you saw it in a prominent newspaper headline?) Read more …
Biodiversity loss is driven by economic growth: Prof. Julia Steinberger
Dave Darby talks with Julia Steinberger, professor of ecological economics at the University of Leeds and a member of the IPCC, about her work and the links between biodiversity loss and economic growth. Read more …
Beware the ‘Great Reset’: a power grab by billionaires
The world is run by and for billionaires. If you’d prefer it to be run democratically, for all of us, then don’t be fooled by the ‘Great Reset’ – a request by the corporate and financial sectors for governments to give them taxpayers’ money to take more control. Read more …
Why ‘green growth’ is an oxymoron: Brian Czech of CASSE
This is part 2 of an interview with Brian Czech (part 1 is here), the president of CASSE (Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy). He served in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1999-2017, and as a visiting professor of natural resource economics in Virginia Tech’s National Capitol Region. Read more …
Interview with Brian Czech: the impossibility of a perpetually-growing economy
Today I’m talking with Brian Czech, the president of CASSE (Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy). He served in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1999-2017, and as a visiting professor of natural resource economics in Virginia Tech’s National Capitol Region. He is the author of Supply Shock, Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train, and The Endangered Species Act: History, Conservation Biology, and Public Policy, as well as over 50 academic journal articles. Read more …
Post-corona: ‘getting back to normal’ is suicidal – here’s the alternative
“For those who dream of a return to “normalcy”: normalcy was standing on the tracks watching an oncoming train & arguing about how fast it was going. Something just banged into us & sent us sprawling. It hurt. A lot. Now let’s get up, but NOT get back on the tracks again.” – David Graeber
Post-corona: ‘getting back to normal’ is not just a bad idea – it’s suicidal
There’s been a lot of talk about ‘thanking’ coronavirus for giving us the breathing space to re-evaluate, and for giving nature some breathing space too. This isn’t one of those articles. I don’t find it compassionate to thank a virus that’s killing thousands of people, and closing millions of small businesses, allowing Amazon to hoover up almost the entire economy. That’s not the kind of world I want. Read more …
Surviving the Future: an online course for our times
Our friend Shaun Chamberlin of Dark Optimism shares news of Surviving the Future: conversations for our time, an eight week online gathering which he will be co-facilitating on behalf of Sterling College, starting on Monday 6th April. Read more …
The global money system: not the kind of ‘normality’ we should return to after the coronavirus crisis is over
This is the fifth in a series of articles about how mutual credit can help us get through the economic problems caused by the corona virus. The main points to get across are:
- There’s going to be a shortage of money.
- Mutual credit is a moneyless trading system.
That’s it! Mutual credit can help local economies survive when there’s no money around.
Here Tom Greco describes the system that the financial elite will be pushing us to revert to after the coronavirus crisis is over. Read more …
Coming together to build a new economy: Matthew Slater, barefoot economist and Credit Commons co-designer, Part 2
In part 1 I described why a resilient economy needs be to separate from the failing capitalist juggernaut and that we need to start by finding new economic partners from without the Market. Read more …
Starting from scratch: Matthew Slater, barefoot economist and Credit Commons co-designer, Part 1
Donald Trump recently derided Greta Thunberg and everyone pleading with government to heed environmental science as ‘doomsayers’. The more imminent peak oil or environmental collapse appear, the more intransigent our political system seems to be. Whatever the reasons for this, responsible citizens can only accomplish so much while the political and economic winds are blowing against them. Read more …
26 questions from a 10-year-old to his parents about the election
At a dinner party on Saturday evening, I had a discussion about a) the efficacy of elections for bringing about meaningful change, and b) the desirability of the quest for perpetual economic growth (I didn’t feel positively about either of those things). Our hosts’ 10-year-old son was listening carefully, after which he expressed his intention to interview his parents about their thoughts on the election, and to film it, possibly for YouTube. Read more …
The elephant in the room is capitalism. Maybe.
Chris Smaje of Vallis Veg and Small Farm Future shares his thoughts as to why the elephant in the room is capitalism. Maybe. It’s over to Chris from here…
Read more …
How to build a global, moneyless, interest-free trading system: Matthew Slater of the Credit Commons Collective
Today I’m talking with Matthew Slater, author of the Credit Commons white paper – an idea to link together mutual credit schemes anywhere in the world to create a global, moneyless trading system. Read more …
Decentralised collaboration, Paul Mason and more: see you at OPEN 2019 next week?
We hear from Oliver Sylvester-Bradley about exciting opportunities to collaborate at the OPEN 2019 Community Gathering, taking place in London next week.
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Reflections on the CTRLshift gathering – an emergency summit for change
The stated aim of the annual CTRLshift gathering (that took place in Stoke-on-Trent recently) is to bring key people together to talk about practical steps to help shift power away from central government and multinational corporations, to communities and individuals. Well, you had me at ‘decentralisation’, so I went along. Read more …
The ‘Preston Model’: Frances Northrop of the New Economics Foundation
Dave Darby explores the ‘Preston Model’ and new municipalism in an interview with Frances Northrop of the New Economics Foundation.
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Developing local entrepreneurs and keeping out giant corporations: Jay Tompt of the REconomy Project
Today we’re talking with Jay Tompt, of the REconomy Project. This is part of a series of interviews with people who are helping to build a new economy. Read more …