Thursday, May 2, 2024

Degrowth: The Green Movement’s Dystopian Endgame

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There's a concept floating around academia and the more panicked corners of the green movement that our economic system is pushing the Earth to its doom, and humanity to extinction.

The only way to stop it is something called “.” And it's as dystopian as it sounds

In Less Is More, probably the best-known statement of the case for degrowth, Jason Hickel [writes]: ‘Compound interest is incompatible with sustaining life on a delicately balanced living planet.' We cannot grow our way out of our predicament: growth is growth is growth. As Tim Jackson puts it in Post Growth: Life after Capitalism, ‘Growth means more throughput' – the flow, in absolute terms, of energy and materials in the production process. ‘More throughput means more impact. More impact means less planet. Endless growth – green or not – can only end up leading to no growth at all. There is no growth on a dead planet.' The mythology of decoupling is, as he puts it, a ‘form of denial'.

Which is a very narrow way of seeing the world, and one's fellow human beings. But even the most dedicated degrowth advocates understand their solutions are very, very strong medicine that, if implemented all at once, will fail. In the interim? Plenty of socialist redistribution of wealth (though who and what gets redistributed to whom is unclear…never mind who gets to decide how it works):

…as degrowthers acknowledge, simply shutting down a global that is ecologically disastrous could be socially disastrous instead, and the effects would be worst for the already poor and marginalised. Hence models of degrowth are never just about rollback or shutdown, but a combination of purposeful downsizing and global redistribution. Since ‘reducing throughput is likely to lead to a reduction in the rate of GDP growth, or even a decline in GDP itself,' as Hickel says, ‘we have to be prepared to manage that outcome in a safe and just way. This is what degrowth sets out to do.'

Safe and just – the shield and sword of the righteous to use against unbelievers of all sizes and economic income brackets.

While there is little hope of convincing the converted that the end is not at hand, a more rational approach to concerns about pollution, habitat loss, poor resource management and a host of other ills isn't government's cold, dead hand. It's embracing human ingenuity and spirit.

For all our many and manifest failings as a species, humanity has also managed to adapt, survive and thrive in the face of innumerable challenges…because we have the freedom to find solutions. Cast all that aside and huddle in the dark if you wish. The rest of us will be getting on with living better, longer, happier lives.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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Norman Leahy
Norman Leahy
Norman Leahy has written about national and Virginia politics for more than 30 years with outlets ranging from The Washington Post to BearingDrift.com. A consulting writer, editor, recovering think tank executive and campaign operative, Norman lives in Virginia.

10 COMMENTS

  1. This insanity is not far from the AOC and Bernie Sanders, and Liz Warren echo chamber. They believe that every economic activity that creates jobs and sells consumer products of any kind (like food, clothing, etc.) is really destroying the planet, as well as stealing everything from people of color.

  2. Time to remove and silence these idiots who make up the lies and science. They’re blind,,brainless, mentally inept. The creators and supporters of green are the biggest criminals and energy wasters.

  3. Despite all the false claims of the climate change haox, mankind will not and can not control the climate. God is in control and will not allow the end of mankind. The end will come at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ who will judge the whole Earth.

  4. The earth has the capacity to heal itself and new species can replace those driven extinct, but it can take millions of years. We appear to be nearing a time when endangered species can be saved by banking their DNA, and bringing them back at a later time. Resource depletion is another matter, as once gone they cannot be replaced for up to a billion years. The problem is the sheer number of humans around the world, most of whom have zero or negative value. They contribute nothing to human progress and are basically dangerous parasites despoiling the earth and seas. That is not a popular notion, I realize, but is true nonetheless. Economies can shrink without harm, and population growth can be controlled with some effort. That might require allowing plagues and famines to run their course which they will do without our own interference by preventing them at great cost. The least cruel option seems to be mandatory birth control by some method, probably chemical sterilization, to allow their unmanageable numbers and environmental destruction to decline. Many potential parents should not be allowed to reproduce, particularly those giving birth to inferior or dangerous offspring such as those found in slums and ghettos worldwide. People should be given a grade similar to what the USDA does with beef products, and the grade should be used to determine which should be allowed to reproduce and which of them should not. Every problem currently afflicting the planet at this time boils down to out-of-control population growth. If humans refuse to take necessary measures, nature will do it for us and it won’t be pretty.

  5. This is anti-Scriptural and Satanic in inspiration. Scripture advises us to be fruitful and multiply. Back in the 1970;s the message was to warn us of the approaching ice age and we are still here. We ignored Earth’s last call back in the 1990’s (now Global Warming) and lo and behold, we’re still here! The climate wackos can but push the dire threshold further into the future to justify robbing and enslaving human beings as ‘the scourge of a pure, innocent planet.’ Obama the great high priest of climate change just purchased a beach home in Martha;s Vineyard. Does he really believe therefore that the sea levels will rise? NO. But human beings are ALSO part of nature. Those who do not believe in God, quoth Chesterton, will believe ANYTHING.

  6. Cletus, did you get that ludicrous spiel from Bll Gates? If you want to depopulate the earth, start with yourself. What have YOU done to save the earth? Have you been sterilized? Probably not. Have you “ gone green” probably not. Do you have an electric vehicle? Again probably not. Is your home energy efficient? Again, probably not. So, your nonsensical babble is just that, pure nonsense. You have been listening to that lunatic Gates, who wants to depopulate the earth. Perhaps, he should start with YOU!

  7. There’s no point in a discussion with a liberal; facts, logic, and truth never intrude into their idealistic dreamworld fantasies.

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