It’s nobody’s fault, but economic growth is no longer possible

baby and mom during a coronavirus pandemic

James Lovelock:  “Warnings that once seemed like the doom scenarios of science fiction are now coming to pass. We are entering into a heat age in which the temperature and sea levels will be rising decade by decade until the world becomes unrecognisable.  We have no choice but to reduce the burning of fossil fuels or face even worse consequences.”

Andrew Nikiforuk:  “We must contract the global economy, restructure technological society and restore what’s left of natural ecosystems if we want to live and breathe.”

Tim Morgan: “The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has triggered two fundamental changes that were, in reality, due to happen anyway.  One of these is a systemic financial crisis, and the other is the realisation that an era of increasingly-cosmetic economic “growth” has come to a decisive end. 

The real economy is now unraveling. Much of what was made in my lifetime is now being unmade.  Not in a gentle unremarkable way, like we experienced growth. More like a series of crashes.

The first crash is health and social care.

In April 2021, an ex-NHS chief warned of a  “truly frightening backlog of delays in vital care”.  At the same time, the New Policy Institute reported that: “After six years of sliding backwards, child poverty is back in the 20th century, at a level last seen in the 1990s and growing at a rate last seen in the 1980s.” Our NHS and Care Systems have reached the ends of their existence in the current form.

Our transport systems, are in a ‘state’ of disorganisation.  Subsidised for the time being..

Declining prosperity and increasing energy costs are leading to essentials becoming more expensive and discretionary markets are on the way out.

All are symptoms of a shrinking economy – because economic growth is no longer possible.  This is a natural process, not the result of government intervention.

A fundamental change in our mindsets is required to cope with the idea of a shrinking economy. It is the new normal.  A change away from abstract chatter about how things used to be, to the reality of how things are now.

My preoccupation will continue to be watching what is going on locally and globally.  Spreading my understanding of where we are heading.  Hoping that I will help to make the shrinkage less painful.

Two things you should consider:

  1. Get involved in promoting, growing, processing, and distributing local food. The only future we can be certain of.
  2. Sign up to receive my all-seeing blogs at https://orcop.com/

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Radix is the radical centre think tank. We welcome all contributions which promote system change, challenge established notions and re-imagine our societies. The views expressed here are those of the individual contributor and not necessarily shared by Radix.

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