The Case for Degrowth
lrb.co.uk
The Case for Degrowth
1–10 of 332 posts
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#2Re: The Case for Degrowth
#3No post body was provided.
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#4Quoted post unavailable.
Not sure what you're talking about; the above phrase does not appear in TFA.
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#5We are in the biggest global/sovereign debt crisis of the last 100 year, maybe more.
The things that will cause an explosive collapse in this scenario is shrinking population and a global shrinking economy. Debt needs growth.
It's like a mortgage on a house. It's a good deal if the house is increasing in value. It can quickly turn bad if the house is losing value.
Personally, I'd prefer to see that collapse happen but understand it would be incredibly nasty. I think most people drastically underestimate how fucked up the world would be if GDP and population fell by 1% annually for the next 10 years.
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#6The problem with ideas like this is that it takes the ladder away from middle class and the poor.
Both need growth in order to improve their conditions, and their place in society exists only because they can produce growth.
Without it the power of the wealthy over them would become a weight pressing down with such force that it would intolerable.
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#7The problem with ideas like this is that it takes the ladder away from middle class and the poor. Both need growth in order to improve their conditions, and their place in society exists only because they can produce growth. Without it the power of the wealthy over them would become a weight pressing down with such force that it would intolerable.
Is degrowth incompatible with improved middle class and poor living standards if the rich didn't take so much?
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#8We are in the biggest global/sovereign debt crisis of the last 100 year, maybe more. The things that will cause an explosive collapse in this scenario is shrinking population and a global shrinking economy. Debt needs growth. It's like a mortgage on a house. It's a good deal if the house is increasing in value. It can quickly turn bad if the house is losing value. Personally, I'd prefer to see that collapse happen bu…
An economy that is dependent on continuously increasing population is the mother of all pyramid schemes.
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#9The problem with ideas like this is that it takes the ladder away from middle class and the poor. Both need growth in order to improve their conditions, and their place in society exists only because they can produce growth. Without it the power of the wealthy over them would become a weight pressing down with such force that it would intolerable.
Is degrowth incompatible with improved middle class and poor living standards if the rich didn't take so much?
> Is degrowth incompatible with improved middle class and poor living standards if the rich didn't take so much?
No, but it's antithetical to everything we think and believe for Capital to not take its profits before everyone else.
Re: The Case for Degrowth
#10Among my thoughts as I read this, one which has recurred from time to time: it might be interesting to attempt some kind of reading club on HN in which an article or book is selected for future discussion.
This piece runs about 10 pages printed, or roughly 5,000 words, which seems to challenge HN. And that's before considering that it's further discussing not one but four books, totalling over 1,000 pages.
I'd be quite interested in hearing from those who've read one or all of these, and if there were some way to invoke MacBeth's weird sisters, and agree when we three (or however many) should meet again to discuss them ... would be of interest.
There actually was a proposal for an HN book club ... 14 years ago:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=407067
Any interest now, and suggestions on how to structure this, would be appreciated.