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Post-croissance: Vivre après le capitalisme
Malgré les crises qui se succèdent, toujours plus nombreuses et plus violentes, nous restons obnubilés par la croissance. Penser l’a près-croissance est devenu une question de survie. Dans ce livre, Tim Jackson propose de réfléchir à ce qui pourra advenir lorsque nous en aurons enfin terminé avec cette obsession. Cette expérience de pensée nous permet d’explorer de nouvelles frontières pour le progrès social. Elle révèle des territoires inexplorés où l’abondance n’est pas mesurée en dollars et où l’accomplissement n’est pas le produit d’une incessante accumulation de richesses matérielles. À l’aide d’un récit très vivant et souvent drôle, Tim Jackson revisite l’histoire culturelle de l’économie occidentale, jusqu’aux récents enseignements tirés du confinement généralisé de 2020. Post-Croissance est une invitation à nous libérer des errements du passé et à guider notre regard loin du sol pollué du dogme économique actuel, afin de nous permettre d’envisager ce à quoi le progrès humain pourrait ressembler.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
84 people are currently reading
2183 people want to read
About the author
Tim Jackson
52 books90 followersTim Jackson is an ecological economist and writer. Since 2016 he has been Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). CUSP is a multidisciplinary research centre which aims to understand the economic, social and political dimensions of sustainable prosperity. Its guiding vision for prosperity is one in which people everywhere have the capability to flourish as human beings – within the ecological and resource constraints of a finite planet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
July 13, 2021
Jackson does a great job in this book discussing the historical context of why and how growth is a problem, and he uses metaphors and other such techniques to make clear (or nearly clear) points about growth and post-growth. Unfortunately, I do not feel that the book lives up to its title. There was disappointingly little discussion about what society would look like once we've overcome our obsession/addiction to growth.
If you are new to the idea of Degrowth or Post-growth then I might recommend this book, but if you are more familiar with the topic and are looking for something more illustrative of a post-growth future, this is not the book you are looking for.
If you are new to the idea of Degrowth or Post-growth then I might recommend this book, but if you are more familiar with the topic and are looking for something more illustrative of a post-growth future, this is not the book you are looking for.
December 4, 2021
Rosa Luxemburg said over a century ago that “capitalism can only really proceed by plundering cheap resources from beyond its own dominion.” John Kenneth Galbraith was six feet nine inches tall. Before Herman Daly started writing about the Steady-State economy in the 70’s, John Stuart Mill discussed the stationary state in classical economics. Of the stationary state, Mill wrote, “I am inclined to believe that it would be, on the whole, a very considerable improvement on our present condition.” Look at Russia and China, there’s no such thing as a “pure non-capitalist economy”. The biggest reason for capitalism dying is capitalism itself. “Capitalism has no answers for its own failings. It cannot pursue social justice while it continues to prioritize profit. It cannot protect our climate while it continues to idealize the stock market.” “Growth means more throughput. Endless growth – green or not – can only end up meaning no growth at all. There is no growth on a dead planet.” As Greta Thunberg says, endless growth is “a fairytale – with a very bad ending.” Explain how Chile and Costa Rica have lower life expectancy yet score higher on the happiness index? Capitalism doesn’t protect its ecological investment. Post-capitalism we will have to protect our ecological, care and creative investments. We will have to create a canopy of hope. Selfless service and “motivating others to act for the common good.”
“Early estimates suggested that almost three-quarters of coronavirus deaths were associated with at least one underlying health condition.” Look closely at the comorbidities of COVID-19. “Left to their own devices, the general tendency of physical systems is to move from order to chaos.” “Creating civilization is an enormous effort. You need huge volumes of available energy to do it.” You can play the thermodynamic game, but that doesn’t mean you are going to win it; endless growth is a thermodynamic impossibility. “Physical assets tend to fall apart. Concrete turns to dust.” “Depreciation is the economic manifestation …of entropy”. In the future we will have to substitute “emotional expression” for “material exchange”. Love brings order out of chaos. Capitalism: When you want things “consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever-increasing pace.” Before Europeans arrived, Kenyans “did not look at trees and see timber, or at elephants and think ivory, or at cheetahs and think skins for sale.”
“That enough’s enough is enough to know”: though often attributed to Shecky Greene this cool quote for our future was actually from Lao Tzu in 500 BC. The book ends with what I assume is Tim’s thesis for this book: Capitalism’s fatal flaw is not understanding when enough is enough. Or as my Quaker Sixth Grade teacher Mrs. Haines used to say, “Genug ist genug.” Jason Hickel wrote, “Rich countries aren’t developing poor countries; poor countries are effectively developing rich countries – and they have been since the late 15th century.” There’s a certain point where action is required; as Thich Nhat Hanh said, “When bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation room”. Thoreau said civil disobedience is the answer when the state no longer represents your moral interests. On the very next page (p. 155) after progressive Thoreau, I am jarred awake by Tim adopting Max Hasting’s openly hawkish view on Vietnam. According to the utterly non-progressive Max Hastings, we can be forgiven in Vietnam because North Vietnam matched the US cruelty for cruelty. Really? Who knew North Vietnam ever physically invaded the US and intentionally fomented a Civil War here killing two million of OUR civilians and also did great ecological damage that exists to this day? Then Tim immediately brings up Hobbes in his defense of Hastings, and I think is Tim not only a boring writer but strangely politically all over the map.
This book had a few nice quotes and that was sadly it. I read this book hoping it would talk about its very title. What will life be like post-growth? What will it and contraction look like? How can we prepare? How do we talk about it with others? Or maybe discuss the sub-title “Life after Capitalism”. No such luck; this book had a great title but ultimately was as empty of content about our collective future as the couch pictured on the cover. I really should have read the new release “Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World” by Peter A. Victor instead.
“Early estimates suggested that almost three-quarters of coronavirus deaths were associated with at least one underlying health condition.” Look closely at the comorbidities of COVID-19. “Left to their own devices, the general tendency of physical systems is to move from order to chaos.” “Creating civilization is an enormous effort. You need huge volumes of available energy to do it.” You can play the thermodynamic game, but that doesn’t mean you are going to win it; endless growth is a thermodynamic impossibility. “Physical assets tend to fall apart. Concrete turns to dust.” “Depreciation is the economic manifestation …of entropy”. In the future we will have to substitute “emotional expression” for “material exchange”. Love brings order out of chaos. Capitalism: When you want things “consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever-increasing pace.” Before Europeans arrived, Kenyans “did not look at trees and see timber, or at elephants and think ivory, or at cheetahs and think skins for sale.”
“That enough’s enough is enough to know”: though often attributed to Shecky Greene this cool quote for our future was actually from Lao Tzu in 500 BC. The book ends with what I assume is Tim’s thesis for this book: Capitalism’s fatal flaw is not understanding when enough is enough. Or as my Quaker Sixth Grade teacher Mrs. Haines used to say, “Genug ist genug.” Jason Hickel wrote, “Rich countries aren’t developing poor countries; poor countries are effectively developing rich countries – and they have been since the late 15th century.” There’s a certain point where action is required; as Thich Nhat Hanh said, “When bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation room”. Thoreau said civil disobedience is the answer when the state no longer represents your moral interests. On the very next page (p. 155) after progressive Thoreau, I am jarred awake by Tim adopting Max Hasting’s openly hawkish view on Vietnam. According to the utterly non-progressive Max Hastings, we can be forgiven in Vietnam because North Vietnam matched the US cruelty for cruelty. Really? Who knew North Vietnam ever physically invaded the US and intentionally fomented a Civil War here killing two million of OUR civilians and also did great ecological damage that exists to this day? Then Tim immediately brings up Hobbes in his defense of Hastings, and I think is Tim not only a boring writer but strangely politically all over the map.
This book had a few nice quotes and that was sadly it. I read this book hoping it would talk about its very title. What will life be like post-growth? What will it and contraction look like? How can we prepare? How do we talk about it with others? Or maybe discuss the sub-title “Life after Capitalism”. No such luck; this book had a great title but ultimately was as empty of content about our collective future as the couch pictured on the cover. I really should have read the new release “Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World” by Peter A. Victor instead.
September 25, 2021
Captivating! Tim Jackson is the Malcolm Gladwell of Ecological Economics. Complex and equally important topics from our constant overconsumption and its impact on the environment to the loss of purposeful work beautifully wrapped in poetry (at times) and illustrated by outstanding stories of inspiring individuals and the profound knowledge their stories carry.
A short, yet important book. One that shows us what life can (and should!?) look like. One that brings a vision that make us crave for a life after capitalism, not fear it.
A short, yet important book. One that shows us what life can (and should!?) look like. One that brings a vision that make us crave for a life after capitalism, not fear it.
February 7, 2023
I’m a keen follower of Jackson’s work and the work of CUSP. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and one I know I’ll keep coming back to for reference and to reread. It stands out that Jackson is a playwright as well as an economist reading this book. As with many books of this kind - alternative economics, postcapitalism etc - I was still left wanting more of the how we get there. But maybe I can find more of that in some of Jackson’s other writing/work.
July 16, 2024
DNF
Look I know your man knows a lot and I respect him but this was just too anecdotal for me.
Look I know your man knows a lot and I respect him but this was just too anecdotal for me.
October 13, 2021
Viac filozofické o needs/fullfilment nez policy (na to odporúčam jehoprosperity without growth), ale stále zaujímavé a dobré.
April 27, 2025
This is my discussion post from my class that I’m just also gonna make my goodreads review:
I found the quote “capitalism has no answer for its own failings” an important theme throughout the book. The book talks about how it’s impossible to pursue social justice when profits are prioritized, and the same goes for climate change. Endless growth on a finite planet can only end up meaning no growth at all, because there is no growth on a dead planet. The only way to get rid of capitalism is to convince people the system we have is wrong, and there is a better way. I think this book is a perspective everyone should read to understand why and how changing the way our economy is set up could benefit everyone. However, some people choose to be ignorant, some do not have access to educate themselves on this perspective, or some benefit from capitalism too much to actually want to make a change to the system, which I think is the biggest hurdle in actually bringing into action the post growth society that Jackson envisions. It sounds great in theory, but how do we actually get there? It requires a whole system change that can only be ignited if the majority of general public want these ideals to be held in government policies, to then elect government officials who will enact on it. There has definently been progress in the past, as we saw with the largest climate bill past under the Biden administration. However, I am not convinced an entire system as large as capitalism will ever realistically disappear, but steps towards a post growth economy like the climate bill are certainly possible as we continue to advocate to the government what we believe and vote for officials who hold our values.
I found the quote “capitalism has no answer for its own failings” an important theme throughout the book. The book talks about how it’s impossible to pursue social justice when profits are prioritized, and the same goes for climate change. Endless growth on a finite planet can only end up meaning no growth at all, because there is no growth on a dead planet. The only way to get rid of capitalism is to convince people the system we have is wrong, and there is a better way. I think this book is a perspective everyone should read to understand why and how changing the way our economy is set up could benefit everyone. However, some people choose to be ignorant, some do not have access to educate themselves on this perspective, or some benefit from capitalism too much to actually want to make a change to the system, which I think is the biggest hurdle in actually bringing into action the post growth society that Jackson envisions. It sounds great in theory, but how do we actually get there? It requires a whole system change that can only be ignited if the majority of general public want these ideals to be held in government policies, to then elect government officials who will enact on it. There has definently been progress in the past, as we saw with the largest climate bill past under the Biden administration. However, I am not convinced an entire system as large as capitalism will ever realistically disappear, but steps towards a post growth economy like the climate bill are certainly possible as we continue to advocate to the government what we believe and vote for officials who hold our values.
June 11, 2022
This just made me want to read Ardent, Mill, and Wordsworth instead of the book itself. Good book, important ideas like post-growth, stationary/steady-state economies, human beings as labouring animals (reclaiming work as some kind of fundamental dimension of our being), the material, physical, and embodied nature of life that we tend to forget, how we've set up an economic system that is, by design, not interested in durability. Author is cribbing too often and speaking in voices and thoughts not really his own. The book seems to be a collage rather than a specific thesis with a different perspective. Generally speaking I don't like non-fiction writing that tends to wax poetic and tries to move you with saccharine rhetoric. Or at least, I don't like it when the subject under discussion is scientific, empirical. The author is throwing in these all these artists, poets, economists, and scientists in a blender and the resulting smoothie of economics, literature, and science is just (personally speaking) unappealing.
December 14, 2024
Molt bo, entenedor i interessant. És una explicació de per què el capitalisme no funciona i ho fa ajudat de la filosofia, la ciència i l'antropologia. Molt ben referenciat i té cites de personatges molt importants que tmbé ajuden a contextualitzar el que passa. Al final del llibre, però, esperava una descripció més profunda de com seria un sistema alternatiu al capitalisme.
April 7, 2021
More a guide to wellbeing than an economics manual. A must read for anyone looking for a way out of the capitalist nightmare.
August 19, 2024
crec que m'esperava una altra cosa, tenint en compte el títol. molta explicació de perquè el creixement és insostenible i poc sobre com podria ser la vida després del capitalisme.
September 24, 2021
“It’s about finding the balance between having too little and too much; it’s about the balance between self and other; it’s about the balance between continually innovating and being bedded in tradition,” Tim Jackson
I really like the way Tim writes and how easily he reach out to me as a reader and learner. There are better ecology models out there and cooperation and not competition is the way forward.
I had the pleasure to have Tim on the podcast Inside Ideas. We had a wonderful conversation about his books. You can find episode 129 here: https://youtu.be/DnUV2Ncxj5A
Or check out any of the links below:
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/weekend...
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/what-sh...
https://medium.com/inside-ideas/prof-...
I really like the way Tim writes and how easily he reach out to me as a reader and learner. There are better ecology models out there and cooperation and not competition is the way forward.
I had the pleasure to have Tim on the podcast Inside Ideas. We had a wonderful conversation about his books. You can find episode 129 here: https://youtu.be/DnUV2Ncxj5A
Or check out any of the links below:
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/weekend...
https://www.innovatorsmag.com/what-sh...
https://medium.com/inside-ideas/prof-...
July 27, 2021
I once heard Tim Jackson speak at a conference and was struck by the breadth of his knowledge and his understanding of how we are challenged by economics and thrown into a short-term vision of it that will, in the long-run, devastate us all.
Post Growth confirms all this: his extraordinary ability to write, borne from a wealth of understanding and knowledge across a very wide selection from buddhism to poetry to economics to business to pyschology to history and geography and so much more. It makes the reading of this book both joyful as well as perplexing.
It is joyful in that a writer such as Tim Jackson is able to convey the world as one we should all inhabit. It is a post-capitalist one, where the very wealthy are not the only ones to thrive; where the Fargonomics that he describes (gangster economics from the TV series) is not the one we will have; where the desire for 'more' is not more things but more of life and love and more for the rest of the planet rather than our homocentricity.
It is perplexing, of course it is, in that it is a world that is not an obvious conclusion. It is highly desirable, of course it is. A noble creature will approach nothing else but this. A human creature? Maybe not so obviously.
The trouble with the self-evident truths that TIm Jackson writes so eloquently about is, in my mind, that there seems no obvious way out of the mindset that capitalism and its journey through desire for goods above and beyond that which we need (in developed countries) and its translation into GDP growth that has captured us all. It is a world where 'natural capital' translates the wonders of the world (nature) into $ and other currencies, this relegating the essence of the world to numbers which are based on false assumptions about what is valuable and false narratives about how only by calculating the price of everything will we be able to save it; only by having a balance sheet of nature, will we be able to store it and invest for the future. No more quality except via quantification!
It is a madness that has engulfed us all. So, while I agree with Tim Jackson at every level, the recipe for progress is unclear. He calls up the deficit of democracy and the need to move beyond the present state, perhaps through a Ghandi-like civil disobedience, a Greta Thunberg fight. He may well be right that this is the only way in the shape of Black Lives Matter or Extinction Rebellion. It is unclear how the vast majority of the world that is in a GDP trance, even where they have "enough" already but want more, will move in sufficient numbers to a world beyond capitalism before it is too late to save our existence, the human one. The world will survive and probably thrive, but it is the human one, trying to maintain its survival against climate change, AI, robots and the the rest, but mostly against ourselves (Viet Nam is a good example, but Afghanistan is just as good) that may well not.
Entropy is the norm in the universe and we struggle against it. Jackson mentions one of my favourite authors, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen who said: "Will mankind listen to any program that implies a constriction of its addiction to exosomatic comfort? Perhaps the destiny of man is to have a short but fiery, exciting, and extravagant life rather than a long, uneventful, and vegetative existence. Let other species -- the amoebas, for example -- which have no spiritual ambitions inherit an earth still bathed in plenty of sunshine."
Post Growth confirms all this: his extraordinary ability to write, borne from a wealth of understanding and knowledge across a very wide selection from buddhism to poetry to economics to business to pyschology to history and geography and so much more. It makes the reading of this book both joyful as well as perplexing.
It is joyful in that a writer such as Tim Jackson is able to convey the world as one we should all inhabit. It is a post-capitalist one, where the very wealthy are not the only ones to thrive; where the Fargonomics that he describes (gangster economics from the TV series) is not the one we will have; where the desire for 'more' is not more things but more of life and love and more for the rest of the planet rather than our homocentricity.
It is perplexing, of course it is, in that it is a world that is not an obvious conclusion. It is highly desirable, of course it is. A noble creature will approach nothing else but this. A human creature? Maybe not so obviously.
The trouble with the self-evident truths that TIm Jackson writes so eloquently about is, in my mind, that there seems no obvious way out of the mindset that capitalism and its journey through desire for goods above and beyond that which we need (in developed countries) and its translation into GDP growth that has captured us all. It is a world where 'natural capital' translates the wonders of the world (nature) into $ and other currencies, this relegating the essence of the world to numbers which are based on false assumptions about what is valuable and false narratives about how only by calculating the price of everything will we be able to save it; only by having a balance sheet of nature, will we be able to store it and invest for the future. No more quality except via quantification!
It is a madness that has engulfed us all. So, while I agree with Tim Jackson at every level, the recipe for progress is unclear. He calls up the deficit of democracy and the need to move beyond the present state, perhaps through a Ghandi-like civil disobedience, a Greta Thunberg fight. He may well be right that this is the only way in the shape of Black Lives Matter or Extinction Rebellion. It is unclear how the vast majority of the world that is in a GDP trance, even where they have "enough" already but want more, will move in sufficient numbers to a world beyond capitalism before it is too late to save our existence, the human one. The world will survive and probably thrive, but it is the human one, trying to maintain its survival against climate change, AI, robots and the the rest, but mostly against ourselves (Viet Nam is a good example, but Afghanistan is just as good) that may well not.
Entropy is the norm in the universe and we struggle against it. Jackson mentions one of my favourite authors, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen who said: "Will mankind listen to any program that implies a constriction of its addiction to exosomatic comfort? Perhaps the destiny of man is to have a short but fiery, exciting, and extravagant life rather than a long, uneventful, and vegetative existence. Let other species -- the amoebas, for example -- which have no spiritual ambitions inherit an earth still bathed in plenty of sunshine."
August 18, 2022
Jackson is a brilliant writer. The main topic of his enquiry is to show the fail of capitalism and our constant obsession with 'more'.
The author sees capitalism as a dying paradigm and highlights how humanity is finally ready to turn the page and move forward.
In 'Post Growth' there's more than just economics. Jackson intertwines poetry, psychology, art, philosophy, poetry and social activism. He shows how post-capitalism starts with a deep understanding of the human nature.
This books is honest and passionate; it gave me hope for a better future.
The author sees capitalism as a dying paradigm and highlights how humanity is finally ready to turn the page and move forward.
In 'Post Growth' there's more than just economics. Jackson intertwines poetry, psychology, art, philosophy, poetry and social activism. He shows how post-capitalism starts with a deep understanding of the human nature.
This books is honest and passionate; it gave me hope for a better future.
October 23, 2023
In this text, Tim Jackson outlines the philosophical and practical implications of leaving our current growth-addicted system, discussing the ethical yet concrete dilemmas and questions that one needs to deal with when thinking about what he calls a ‘Post-growth’ society.
In chapter 3, he clarifies how the growth imperative of our current economic system is inherent to capitalism itself, both as paradigm for economics but also as a culture. By putting profit as the primary motivation for people to invest, capitalism implies a “behavioural assumption” about the idea that the only way to get people to work, and produce, is by making them expect financial reward. This, in turn, creates a sharp class divide between those who earn their living from wages, and those who earn income from profit. Drawing on Streek, he diagnoses capitalism to have now answers for its own failings: “it finds itself powerless, at the mercy of circumstance, when the lives of millions are at stake”. While Jackson recognizes capitalism’s function as a cultural myth aimed at providing a sense of continuity and certainty in our lives, he calls for a new, better story for the future, instead of one that “undermine our sense of meaning and threatens our collective well-being”.
A new story about human nature, Jackson tells us, needs to have a more mature understanding of our limits. Capitalism implies behavioural and natural assumptions that place limits oddly, like an immature man who thinks he can conquer the world. The myth of endless and decoupled growth is nothing but a denial of limits: “It is the failure to delineate properly between what is limited and what is not that lies at the heart of capitalism’s woes”. This denial of limits is perfectly incarnated by the recent surge in ‘green growth’ and sustainable growth policies, which reject the same notion of limit for the sake of the dystopian promise of technologically-fuelled endless expansion.
At this point, Jackson touches an interesting nuance. What does it mean to say that capitalism misunderstands the meaning of the notion of ‘limit’? As already mentioned, what is unsustainable is thinking that human beings have materially limitless opportunities for growth and betterment. Yet, recognizing this faulty line of reasoning within capitalist ideology does not mean to cancel the possibility of the concept of the ‘limitless’. What can be sustainably and ethically limitless, then? Jackson draws here on a long tradition of thinkers who encourage humans to reach their full potential as finite human beings (- I would add Marx to this list, quite literally): a desire to be creative and transcend our own physical limitations is precious, and “served us well through numerous stages of human evolution”. Thus, he quotes Rousseau’s “The world of reality has its bounds. The world of imagination is boundless”. Whereas Rousseau addresses the dilemma given by a reality that does not match expectations with fear (let’s limit expectations), Jackson calls for adaptation as a possible response, a concept which will be crucial for any post-growth philosophy. We can adapt and recognize that, whereas the world is materially limited, “applying our limitless ingenuity and boundless imagination in adapting to the real world is the foundation for an endlessly creative endeavour. “Limits are the gateway to the limitless”, he says, echoing Wendell Berry’s words: “Human and earthly limits, properly understood […] are not confinements, but rather inducements to fullness of relationship and meaning.”
This philosophy of limits then leads to a new conception of prosperity. He starts chapter 4 with an interesting review of the literature regarding happiness, prosperity and well-being. He starts by analyzing the theory of happiness that underlies our economic system. Utilitarian economics were born with Bentham and Mill as a “bold” move challenging the unjust dictatorial moral authority of the church: instead of concepts like ‘natural order’ and ‘natural law’, Bentham argued that a state would be in power in order to pursue ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people’. Mill understood this attempt at democratizing ethics and morality (should we do that again?), and started to work on a new theory of happiness, in which utility equals happiness. With an odd leap of arguments, utility came then to be understood as worth, value, and finally money. Money, then, becomes a proxy for happiness, which guides the work of our governments. Here, credits to the author for empathizing so humanely with J.S.M. as a person rather than a rationalist economist. He follows the history of his ideas along with the changes in his life. Trapped in feelings of melancholia that will accompany him until the end of his days, Mills confesses in his diary that “those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some other object than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.” The author deconstructs this “contorted apologia” of the failings of Mill’s happiness calculus as a way for the philosopher to convince himself of the validity of the utilitarian project. This is then shown by another passage of his autobiography when, after the publication of his treatise, he still confesses to be deeply unhappy, and analyses this to be a consequence of a loveless childhood. “In our schemes for improving human affairs, we overlooked human beings”. Jackson affirms that these passages are hints to failings of Mill’s utilitarian idea of happiness as a simple, one-dimensional economic goal which can be accurately calculated. “Neither the pursuit of happiness nor the pursuit of money offers us a reliable guide to what we might call the ‘good life’”. At the end of his life, inspired by Wordsworth poems, Mill will realize that true soothing and healing comes from empathy, transcendence, poetry and love. As monotheisms tell us, love is infinite and boundless.
Jackson offers than a multi-dimensional conception of prosperity based on a philosophy of limits. Drawing on Amartya Sen, he argues that prosperity depends on the ‘capabilities’ that people in society need to flourish or to function well, social progress being the continual betterment of such capabilities. Aristotle coined the word wellbeing (eudaimonia), which is in tune with such definition of prosperity: “activity of the soul in accordance with virtue”. Virtue (arete) here is conceived as ‘functioning well’, excelling at being human within your capabilities, ‘being good at being good’. Aristotle’s virtue is deeply embedded in a philosophy of limits too. Each virtue is flanked by two vices, that we could see as extremes, being scarcity and extremes. In order to have a ‘good life’ (be happy), humans need to flourish their capabilities without going beyond their limits. This, Jackson contends, is in stark contrast with utilitarian economics, which led to equalling GDP with happiness: too little money and material means means scarcity, too much means excess. Prosperity, in other words, is health: a healthy equilibrium of human vices centred at flourishing our capabilities to the fullest. Here, the connection with Hannah Arendt is quite interesting, as she theorizes that the only chance for contentment that humans have is “the prescribed cycle of painful exhaustion and pleasurable regeneration”.
But what does prosperity “in terms of health” mean, in practice? He proposes a framework that places 5 dimensons of well-being that are all interrelated, co-dependent and necessary: living a healthy life means to have spiritual, sexual, social, physiological and psychological equilibrium – in different ways for everyone. This model is deeply anti-capitalist, as it posits that “virtue lies in achieving an appropriate balance within and between each of these dimensions – effectively ruling out the possibility that the good life can be achieved in any meaningful way through a continual accumulation of material or financial wealth”. He brings forward many psychological, medical and anthropological sources to back this model. The ones that I found most compelling was the pioneering research about addiction carried out by Alexander Bruh in the 70s, concluding that “The opposite to addiction is not sobriety … the opposite to addiction is connection”.
Here, another beautiful connection: entropy. Jackson digs deeper into what it mean for human to live well and achieve excellent functioning. In physiological terms, health is a balancing act, a “dance played out between our diet, our physiology and our choices in life” – our ability to create and maintain order: “replenish cells, prevent decay, achieve optimal balance”. Order is reached at a cost, as disorder always tends to increase. And here comes entropy, with the second law of thermodynamics: the energy you use to create order becomes less and less available in the process of making order. Entropy (disorder, chaose) always tends to increase. In the light of this, then, life is a game in which “1. You can never win 2. You can’t even break even. 3. You can never leave the game”. Whereas I think I understood how the law of entropy justifies the idea that a post-growth future needs to enact a balancing act that capitalism has been unable to do, I have problems with understanding the connection between entropy and love. Even if the connection is a fascinating one. If the science tells us that entropy always tends to increase, and the most likely state of the world is chaos, Jackson argues that “out of this chaos can emerge the most unlikely, the most extraordinary and the most profoundly beautiful kinds of order. The complexity of the human species. The subtle balance on which our health depends. Our enormous potential for creativity. And our propensity to encounter the most intense and the most beautiful of human emotions.”
In chapter 6, Tim Jackson shows how capitalism goes against this law of balance by building on an endless stimulation of desire, and drawing of the insatiability of human desire, arguing that “economic structure on the one hand and human psyche on the other bind us into an iron cage of consumerism”. Another cultural tenet of capitalism is the idea that competition is the best response to scarcity, which is confuted by recent research (and ancestral knowledge) about the interrelatedness and interdependency that characterizes human life (along with competition). The balancing act that needs to be done, then, is between these complementary human values: Shalom Shwartz highlights two distinct tensions in human psyche: between self and other, and novelty and tradition. Capitalism exploits the upper-right corner of this 4-sided spectrum, building on our natural longing for novelty and self, which evolved adaptively in human history, to solve problems of scarcity, to create conditions amenable to life and to develop social systems that could respond quickly to fast-changing conditions. By choosing this corner, we are accepting a society that is structurally based on violence, stress and addiction.
Then, how to achieve balance? Jackson proposes the concept of “flow”, the sort of mode of consciousness (connection with psychedelic, holotropic mode of consciousness?) that allows a sense of wonder, “a connectedness to the world, a feeling of satisfaction that goes beyond happiness or the gratification of pleasure”. This is not the popular ‘stay calm, go with the flow”, but rather “a perfect balance between being highly focused and being totally relaxed in the moment”. Flow is one of the ‘dividens’, of the boundless possibilities, that remain available in a post-capitalist society. How does this connect to work, especially to work in a post-growth society?
Back to Hannah Arendt!! In The Human Condition she examines the differences between vita activa and vita contemplativa, trying to assess how to accept human vices while trying to strike a balance between them. Drawing on Arendt’s work, Jackson argues that work needs to be back at the centre of human society, even in a post-growth world. This is interesting, given the discussion about post-capitalism being a post-work scenario (see Fully Automated Luxury Communism, but also the last chapters of Bullshit Jobs). In order to argue for this, he explains Arendt’s distinction between labour and work. Labour is a “design characteristic of the human species”, which is valuable both to the individual and to the survival of society – the activity which corresponds to the biological process of human existence: growth, metabolism and eventual decay. Labour can be paid (what we normally refer to as work) or unpaid (housework, caring for the elderly, parenting, volunteering). For Arendt, true happiness and contentment can only be found in the same raw act of labour, because “it is first and foremost an inevitable part of being alive. […] It is a state where the future is diminished to nothing, the past is irrelevant and only the present remains”. For Arendt, the uniquely human response to a word of entropy and chaos is to “try to construct a world of permanence, […] that is not entirely and incessantly subject to the unforgiving cycle of regeneration and decay. […] the world of human artifice”. Arendt defines then work as the “activity that allows us to build and maintain the durability of the human world”. Whereas labour is about care and sustenance, it is about staying alive with others, work is about “staving off our fears of death”. Through this act of world-building we then are able to experience flow, which we can enjoy as a kind of “triumph over the forces of entropy and decay”.
But then, I wondered, is our society not founded on work already? That’s all we talk about? Well, actually no, Jackson might say. Capitalism is addicted to a kind of work that enslaves people both as consumers and workers, it is a system which builds on either underpaid and exploited workers or people whose tasks are pointless. Drawing on Fritz Schumacher, he explains how capitalist ideology sees work as a mere obstacle to profit: “the ideal from the point of view of the employer is to have output without employees, and the ideal for the employee is to have income without employment”. This ideology structurally contradicts the task of world-building appreciated by Hannah Arendt, and inevitably gives way to precarity and exploitation on one hand, and bullshit jobs on the other. “Capitalism’s need to generate more and more consumption has eroded the distinction between biological maintenance (labour) and the creation of a durable human artifice (work)”. But, Arendt argues, Socialisms failed to address the issue of work holistically. Socialists, even in recent times, have often been blind to “how the endless replacing of people with machines undermines the social function of work.”
All in all, I found this book an interesting trip through all the complex ethical and philosophical (yet material and concrete) that one needs to think about when talking about post-capitalism.
---- As a china studies nerd, I saw compelling connections with Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism throughout the whole book. I appreciate a lot chapter 8, where Tim Jackson connects the whole analysis of Aristotle Eudamoinia and Arete with his later conceptualization of prudential, meant as the practical wisdom of acting “in a way that is consistent with living well.” This connects with Laozi’s ‘clear vision’: in order to have a clear vision of the future, you need to have a strong ‘trunk and root’, a good balance in the now and here. So, when labour is exhausted and we need to take rest from its flow, the concept of prudentia can be a good one to deal with inevitability of dealing w
In chapter 3, he clarifies how the growth imperative of our current economic system is inherent to capitalism itself, both as paradigm for economics but also as a culture. By putting profit as the primary motivation for people to invest, capitalism implies a “behavioural assumption” about the idea that the only way to get people to work, and produce, is by making them expect financial reward. This, in turn, creates a sharp class divide between those who earn their living from wages, and those who earn income from profit. Drawing on Streek, he diagnoses capitalism to have now answers for its own failings: “it finds itself powerless, at the mercy of circumstance, when the lives of millions are at stake”. While Jackson recognizes capitalism’s function as a cultural myth aimed at providing a sense of continuity and certainty in our lives, he calls for a new, better story for the future, instead of one that “undermine our sense of meaning and threatens our collective well-being”.
A new story about human nature, Jackson tells us, needs to have a more mature understanding of our limits. Capitalism implies behavioural and natural assumptions that place limits oddly, like an immature man who thinks he can conquer the world. The myth of endless and decoupled growth is nothing but a denial of limits: “It is the failure to delineate properly between what is limited and what is not that lies at the heart of capitalism’s woes”. This denial of limits is perfectly incarnated by the recent surge in ‘green growth’ and sustainable growth policies, which reject the same notion of limit for the sake of the dystopian promise of technologically-fuelled endless expansion.
At this point, Jackson touches an interesting nuance. What does it mean to say that capitalism misunderstands the meaning of the notion of ‘limit’? As already mentioned, what is unsustainable is thinking that human beings have materially limitless opportunities for growth and betterment. Yet, recognizing this faulty line of reasoning within capitalist ideology does not mean to cancel the possibility of the concept of the ‘limitless’. What can be sustainably and ethically limitless, then? Jackson draws here on a long tradition of thinkers who encourage humans to reach their full potential as finite human beings (- I would add Marx to this list, quite literally): a desire to be creative and transcend our own physical limitations is precious, and “served us well through numerous stages of human evolution”. Thus, he quotes Rousseau’s “The world of reality has its bounds. The world of imagination is boundless”. Whereas Rousseau addresses the dilemma given by a reality that does not match expectations with fear (let’s limit expectations), Jackson calls for adaptation as a possible response, a concept which will be crucial for any post-growth philosophy. We can adapt and recognize that, whereas the world is materially limited, “applying our limitless ingenuity and boundless imagination in adapting to the real world is the foundation for an endlessly creative endeavour. “Limits are the gateway to the limitless”, he says, echoing Wendell Berry’s words: “Human and earthly limits, properly understood […] are not confinements, but rather inducements to fullness of relationship and meaning.”
This philosophy of limits then leads to a new conception of prosperity. He starts chapter 4 with an interesting review of the literature regarding happiness, prosperity and well-being. He starts by analyzing the theory of happiness that underlies our economic system. Utilitarian economics were born with Bentham and Mill as a “bold” move challenging the unjust dictatorial moral authority of the church: instead of concepts like ‘natural order’ and ‘natural law’, Bentham argued that a state would be in power in order to pursue ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people’. Mill understood this attempt at democratizing ethics and morality (should we do that again?), and started to work on a new theory of happiness, in which utility equals happiness. With an odd leap of arguments, utility came then to be understood as worth, value, and finally money. Money, then, becomes a proxy for happiness, which guides the work of our governments. Here, credits to the author for empathizing so humanely with J.S.M. as a person rather than a rationalist economist. He follows the history of his ideas along with the changes in his life. Trapped in feelings of melancholia that will accompany him until the end of his days, Mills confesses in his diary that “those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some other object than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.” The author deconstructs this “contorted apologia” of the failings of Mill’s happiness calculus as a way for the philosopher to convince himself of the validity of the utilitarian project. This is then shown by another passage of his autobiography when, after the publication of his treatise, he still confesses to be deeply unhappy, and analyses this to be a consequence of a loveless childhood. “In our schemes for improving human affairs, we overlooked human beings”. Jackson affirms that these passages are hints to failings of Mill’s utilitarian idea of happiness as a simple, one-dimensional economic goal which can be accurately calculated. “Neither the pursuit of happiness nor the pursuit of money offers us a reliable guide to what we might call the ‘good life’”. At the end of his life, inspired by Wordsworth poems, Mill will realize that true soothing and healing comes from empathy, transcendence, poetry and love. As monotheisms tell us, love is infinite and boundless.
Jackson offers than a multi-dimensional conception of prosperity based on a philosophy of limits. Drawing on Amartya Sen, he argues that prosperity depends on the ‘capabilities’ that people in society need to flourish or to function well, social progress being the continual betterment of such capabilities. Aristotle coined the word wellbeing (eudaimonia), which is in tune with such definition of prosperity: “activity of the soul in accordance with virtue”. Virtue (arete) here is conceived as ‘functioning well’, excelling at being human within your capabilities, ‘being good at being good’. Aristotle’s virtue is deeply embedded in a philosophy of limits too. Each virtue is flanked by two vices, that we could see as extremes, being scarcity and extremes. In order to have a ‘good life’ (be happy), humans need to flourish their capabilities without going beyond their limits. This, Jackson contends, is in stark contrast with utilitarian economics, which led to equalling GDP with happiness: too little money and material means means scarcity, too much means excess. Prosperity, in other words, is health: a healthy equilibrium of human vices centred at flourishing our capabilities to the fullest. Here, the connection with Hannah Arendt is quite interesting, as she theorizes that the only chance for contentment that humans have is “the prescribed cycle of painful exhaustion and pleasurable regeneration”.
But what does prosperity “in terms of health” mean, in practice? He proposes a framework that places 5 dimensons of well-being that are all interrelated, co-dependent and necessary: living a healthy life means to have spiritual, sexual, social, physiological and psychological equilibrium – in different ways for everyone. This model is deeply anti-capitalist, as it posits that “virtue lies in achieving an appropriate balance within and between each of these dimensions – effectively ruling out the possibility that the good life can be achieved in any meaningful way through a continual accumulation of material or financial wealth”. He brings forward many psychological, medical and anthropological sources to back this model. The ones that I found most compelling was the pioneering research about addiction carried out by Alexander Bruh in the 70s, concluding that “The opposite to addiction is not sobriety … the opposite to addiction is connection”.
Here, another beautiful connection: entropy. Jackson digs deeper into what it mean for human to live well and achieve excellent functioning. In physiological terms, health is a balancing act, a “dance played out between our diet, our physiology and our choices in life” – our ability to create and maintain order: “replenish cells, prevent decay, achieve optimal balance”. Order is reached at a cost, as disorder always tends to increase. And here comes entropy, with the second law of thermodynamics: the energy you use to create order becomes less and less available in the process of making order. Entropy (disorder, chaose) always tends to increase. In the light of this, then, life is a game in which “1. You can never win 2. You can’t even break even. 3. You can never leave the game”. Whereas I think I understood how the law of entropy justifies the idea that a post-growth future needs to enact a balancing act that capitalism has been unable to do, I have problems with understanding the connection between entropy and love. Even if the connection is a fascinating one. If the science tells us that entropy always tends to increase, and the most likely state of the world is chaos, Jackson argues that “out of this chaos can emerge the most unlikely, the most extraordinary and the most profoundly beautiful kinds of order. The complexity of the human species. The subtle balance on which our health depends. Our enormous potential for creativity. And our propensity to encounter the most intense and the most beautiful of human emotions.”
In chapter 6, Tim Jackson shows how capitalism goes against this law of balance by building on an endless stimulation of desire, and drawing of the insatiability of human desire, arguing that “economic structure on the one hand and human psyche on the other bind us into an iron cage of consumerism”. Another cultural tenet of capitalism is the idea that competition is the best response to scarcity, which is confuted by recent research (and ancestral knowledge) about the interrelatedness and interdependency that characterizes human life (along with competition). The balancing act that needs to be done, then, is between these complementary human values: Shalom Shwartz highlights two distinct tensions in human psyche: between self and other, and novelty and tradition. Capitalism exploits the upper-right corner of this 4-sided spectrum, building on our natural longing for novelty and self, which evolved adaptively in human history, to solve problems of scarcity, to create conditions amenable to life and to develop social systems that could respond quickly to fast-changing conditions. By choosing this corner, we are accepting a society that is structurally based on violence, stress and addiction.
Then, how to achieve balance? Jackson proposes the concept of “flow”, the sort of mode of consciousness (connection with psychedelic, holotropic mode of consciousness?) that allows a sense of wonder, “a connectedness to the world, a feeling of satisfaction that goes beyond happiness or the gratification of pleasure”. This is not the popular ‘stay calm, go with the flow”, but rather “a perfect balance between being highly focused and being totally relaxed in the moment”. Flow is one of the ‘dividens’, of the boundless possibilities, that remain available in a post-capitalist society. How does this connect to work, especially to work in a post-growth society?
Back to Hannah Arendt!! In The Human Condition she examines the differences between vita activa and vita contemplativa, trying to assess how to accept human vices while trying to strike a balance between them. Drawing on Arendt’s work, Jackson argues that work needs to be back at the centre of human society, even in a post-growth world. This is interesting, given the discussion about post-capitalism being a post-work scenario (see Fully Automated Luxury Communism, but also the last chapters of Bullshit Jobs). In order to argue for this, he explains Arendt’s distinction between labour and work. Labour is a “design characteristic of the human species”, which is valuable both to the individual and to the survival of society – the activity which corresponds to the biological process of human existence: growth, metabolism and eventual decay. Labour can be paid (what we normally refer to as work) or unpaid (housework, caring for the elderly, parenting, volunteering). For Arendt, true happiness and contentment can only be found in the same raw act of labour, because “it is first and foremost an inevitable part of being alive. […] It is a state where the future is diminished to nothing, the past is irrelevant and only the present remains”. For Arendt, the uniquely human response to a word of entropy and chaos is to “try to construct a world of permanence, […] that is not entirely and incessantly subject to the unforgiving cycle of regeneration and decay. […] the world of human artifice”. Arendt defines then work as the “activity that allows us to build and maintain the durability of the human world”. Whereas labour is about care and sustenance, it is about staying alive with others, work is about “staving off our fears of death”. Through this act of world-building we then are able to experience flow, which we can enjoy as a kind of “triumph over the forces of entropy and decay”.
But then, I wondered, is our society not founded on work already? That’s all we talk about? Well, actually no, Jackson might say. Capitalism is addicted to a kind of work that enslaves people both as consumers and workers, it is a system which builds on either underpaid and exploited workers or people whose tasks are pointless. Drawing on Fritz Schumacher, he explains how capitalist ideology sees work as a mere obstacle to profit: “the ideal from the point of view of the employer is to have output without employees, and the ideal for the employee is to have income without employment”. This ideology structurally contradicts the task of world-building appreciated by Hannah Arendt, and inevitably gives way to precarity and exploitation on one hand, and bullshit jobs on the other. “Capitalism’s need to generate more and more consumption has eroded the distinction between biological maintenance (labour) and the creation of a durable human artifice (work)”. But, Arendt argues, Socialisms failed to address the issue of work holistically. Socialists, even in recent times, have often been blind to “how the endless replacing of people with machines undermines the social function of work.”
All in all, I found this book an interesting trip through all the complex ethical and philosophical (yet material and concrete) that one needs to think about when talking about post-capitalism.
---- As a china studies nerd, I saw compelling connections with Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism throughout the whole book. I appreciate a lot chapter 8, where Tim Jackson connects the whole analysis of Aristotle Eudamoinia and Arete with his later conceptualization of prudential, meant as the practical wisdom of acting “in a way that is consistent with living well.” This connects with Laozi’s ‘clear vision’: in order to have a clear vision of the future, you need to have a strong ‘trunk and root’, a good balance in the now and here. So, when labour is exhausted and we need to take rest from its flow, the concept of prudentia can be a good one to deal with inevitability of dealing w
February 18, 2022
This isn’t perfect, by any means. Occasionally dazzled by his own prose, and prone to that impressive but somewhat cloying tradition of drowning in quotations, TJ may also be in danger of only reaching the converted, aka preaching to the ‘amen corner’.
Like Karl Marx before him, he puts forward a damningly cogent and incisive critique of Capitalism. Where he diverges from Marx is in both his more florid and emotional tone, and his proposed answers to the vexatious questions the obvious failures of capitalism pose.
Several key concepts emerge, such as virtue (in the older Aristotlean sense of that concept), working wisely within limits (as opposed to simply ignoring them), balance and flow.
Countering the very dominant neo-Darwinian (or Spencerian?) 19thC models of Capitalism, and exposing them for the inherently flawed myths they are, TJ says the only sustainable way beyond capitalism is a ‘post growth’ vision that accepts and learns wisdom from limits.
That such ideas are being openly discussed is very reassuring. But sadly, with the recent/current eras of Trump in the US and Boris and co in the UK, TJ’s wisdom of balance within limits still looks and feels like a utopian idealism struggling against myths that, for whatever twisted tragic reason, like weeds, take root and multiply so much more readily than do the flowers of wisdom.
There are moments where I find myself quibbling with certain key readings of history within his narrative. But overall his arguments are, to folk like me, massively compelling and essentially sound. But I’m not amongst the rapine disaster capitalists that need to be ‘converted’.
This said, even as someone who considers them self very in tune with TJ’s thinking and desires, regarding a better future for humanity, this book has helped shine a light on how inescapably insidious so much of contemporary capitalist life is. From my own seeking of solace in over-consumption - both in literal dietary terms and the more metaphorical but equally material terms of ‘I shop therefore I am’ - to the devastation of the mental and ‘spiritual’ life Capitalism wreaks, as it devalues labour and marginalises dissenters.
This book is a wake up call, to cowed victims like me, hiding in the margins, eking out a subsistence life away from the glare of the capitalist mainstream, to the ‘captains of industry’ and their apologists and enablers, merrily driving humanity over a cliff of short-sighted short-termist greed.
I do think the ideas presented here need to somehow be successfully communicated to ‘the enemy’, the Trumps, Bojos and their hordes of zombie enablers. And as most of them don’t even read, let alone read this sort of book, that’s where TJ’s vision falters. One can imagine, or rather hear already, the contemptuous dismissals ideas such as flow or balance typically provoke from the currently dominant hard-nosed bully-boy (and girl) Capitalists.
Anyway, in short, a superb and very timely work. Drawing together numerous fascinating insights, from everyone from good ol’ Aristotle, on virtue, to Lyn Margulis on the essential role of collaboration, at the heart of evolutionary progress. This book challenges both the individual and society to substitute old and poisonously unsustainable myths with better healthier narratives, and thereby enable positive change. And both we as a species, and the planet on which we depend, need humanity to awaken to the urgency of such change.
Like Karl Marx before him, he puts forward a damningly cogent and incisive critique of Capitalism. Where he diverges from Marx is in both his more florid and emotional tone, and his proposed answers to the vexatious questions the obvious failures of capitalism pose.
Several key concepts emerge, such as virtue (in the older Aristotlean sense of that concept), working wisely within limits (as opposed to simply ignoring them), balance and flow.
Countering the very dominant neo-Darwinian (or Spencerian?) 19thC models of Capitalism, and exposing them for the inherently flawed myths they are, TJ says the only sustainable way beyond capitalism is a ‘post growth’ vision that accepts and learns wisdom from limits.
That such ideas are being openly discussed is very reassuring. But sadly, with the recent/current eras of Trump in the US and Boris and co in the UK, TJ’s wisdom of balance within limits still looks and feels like a utopian idealism struggling against myths that, for whatever twisted tragic reason, like weeds, take root and multiply so much more readily than do the flowers of wisdom.
There are moments where I find myself quibbling with certain key readings of history within his narrative. But overall his arguments are, to folk like me, massively compelling and essentially sound. But I’m not amongst the rapine disaster capitalists that need to be ‘converted’.
This said, even as someone who considers them self very in tune with TJ’s thinking and desires, regarding a better future for humanity, this book has helped shine a light on how inescapably insidious so much of contemporary capitalist life is. From my own seeking of solace in over-consumption - both in literal dietary terms and the more metaphorical but equally material terms of ‘I shop therefore I am’ - to the devastation of the mental and ‘spiritual’ life Capitalism wreaks, as it devalues labour and marginalises dissenters.
This book is a wake up call, to cowed victims like me, hiding in the margins, eking out a subsistence life away from the glare of the capitalist mainstream, to the ‘captains of industry’ and their apologists and enablers, merrily driving humanity over a cliff of short-sighted short-termist greed.
I do think the ideas presented here need to somehow be successfully communicated to ‘the enemy’, the Trumps, Bojos and their hordes of zombie enablers. And as most of them don’t even read, let alone read this sort of book, that’s where TJ’s vision falters. One can imagine, or rather hear already, the contemptuous dismissals ideas such as flow or balance typically provoke from the currently dominant hard-nosed bully-boy (and girl) Capitalists.
Anyway, in short, a superb and very timely work. Drawing together numerous fascinating insights, from everyone from good ol’ Aristotle, on virtue, to Lyn Margulis on the essential role of collaboration, at the heart of evolutionary progress. This book challenges both the individual and society to substitute old and poisonously unsustainable myths with better healthier narratives, and thereby enable positive change. And both we as a species, and the planet on which we depend, need humanity to awaken to the urgency of such change.
November 3, 2025
De kans om over de hele maatschappij een duurzame levensstijl ingang te doen vinden is klein zonder veranderingen in de sociale structuur. Ten eerste moeten de tegenwerkende tendensen structureel worden aangepakt, en ten tweede moet mensen nieuwe mogelijkheden geboden worden om op een minder materialistische manier aan het leven te kunnen deelnemen.
In zijn vorige boek Welvaart zonder groei beperkte Jackson zich tot het eerste onderwerp. In dit nieuwe boek Postgrowth (Voorbij de groei), dat tijdens de corona epidemie geschreven is, gaat Tim Jackson op zoek naar nieuwe (en herontdekte oude) bronnen van zingeving. Maar voor hij dat doet, vat hij de politieke en economische ontwikkelingen van de afgelopen decennia nog een keer samen.
Vervolgens ziet Jackson de volgende opties om het beslag op materiële groei te beperken:
(1) Hoge milieueisen stellen, energieverbruik en CO2-uitstoot belasten, en een verschuiving van particuliere investeringen naar overheidsinvesteringen in de infrastructuur, duurzame energie, en het klimaatneutraal maken van de gebouwde omgeving.
(2) Verschuiving naar op diensten gebaseerde activiteiten. Zorg en onderwijs kennen een lage arbeidsproductiviteit en dus een aanzienlijke beperking van het groeipotentieel van de economie.
(3) Werktijdverkorting, waardoor het werk, ook bij krimp, beter verdeeld wordt en de besteedbare ruimte afneemt. Werk is essentieel voor persoonlijke ontplooiing; voor een gevoel erbij te horen, de mogelijkheid om te delen in een gemeenschappelijk streven. Als er minder werk beschikbaar is, moet het worden herverdeeld.
Toch zijn de genoemde maatregelen niet voldoende. In een wereld met 9 miljard mensen, die het liefst er allemaal een westerse levensstijl op na zouden willen houden, zou de koolstofintensiteit van iedere dollar BNP in 2050 tenminste 130 keer lager moeten zijn dan vandaag (p. 185, Welvaart zonder groei).
“Maar versobering is niet de enig mogelijke reactie op de uitdagingen waarvoor grenzen ons stellen. Als we de aardse beperkingen zien als een stimulans, dan kunnen we daarmee de basis leggen voor een creatieve onderneming. Voorbij de grenzen aan de welvaart ligt een welvaart die alleen grenzen ons kunnen laten zien. Een bestemming die de reis waard is. Morgen is een ander land.” (p. 66). Dus we moeten op zoek naar een cultuur die minder materieel is en meer welzijn haalt uit zingevende ‘post growth’ activiteiten.
Dit gezegd hebbende gaat hij op zoek naar verhalen om zo’n postgrowth-narratief te ontwikkelen, een nieuwe funderingsmythe voorbij de mythe van de groei, en van het kapitalisme. In een aantal korte hoofdstukken beschrijft hij een aantal inspirerende personen, zoals Robert Kennedy, John Stuart Mill, Thich Nhat Hanh, Hannah Arendt, Emily Dickinson, en situaties zoals de lage brug bij Potter Heigham en de lockdowns in Corona tijd.
Het blijft helaas bij een sympatieke poging om een "beperkende" situatie tot een "rijke" ervaring te maken.
Een uitgebreide bespreking is te lezen op Civis Mundi #134
In zijn vorige boek Welvaart zonder groei beperkte Jackson zich tot het eerste onderwerp. In dit nieuwe boek Postgrowth (Voorbij de groei), dat tijdens de corona epidemie geschreven is, gaat Tim Jackson op zoek naar nieuwe (en herontdekte oude) bronnen van zingeving. Maar voor hij dat doet, vat hij de politieke en economische ontwikkelingen van de afgelopen decennia nog een keer samen.
Vervolgens ziet Jackson de volgende opties om het beslag op materiële groei te beperken:
(1) Hoge milieueisen stellen, energieverbruik en CO2-uitstoot belasten, en een verschuiving van particuliere investeringen naar overheidsinvesteringen in de infrastructuur, duurzame energie, en het klimaatneutraal maken van de gebouwde omgeving.
(2) Verschuiving naar op diensten gebaseerde activiteiten. Zorg en onderwijs kennen een lage arbeidsproductiviteit en dus een aanzienlijke beperking van het groeipotentieel van de economie.
(3) Werktijdverkorting, waardoor het werk, ook bij krimp, beter verdeeld wordt en de besteedbare ruimte afneemt. Werk is essentieel voor persoonlijke ontplooiing; voor een gevoel erbij te horen, de mogelijkheid om te delen in een gemeenschappelijk streven. Als er minder werk beschikbaar is, moet het worden herverdeeld.
Toch zijn de genoemde maatregelen niet voldoende. In een wereld met 9 miljard mensen, die het liefst er allemaal een westerse levensstijl op na zouden willen houden, zou de koolstofintensiteit van iedere dollar BNP in 2050 tenminste 130 keer lager moeten zijn dan vandaag (p. 185, Welvaart zonder groei).
“Maar versobering is niet de enig mogelijke reactie op de uitdagingen waarvoor grenzen ons stellen. Als we de aardse beperkingen zien als een stimulans, dan kunnen we daarmee de basis leggen voor een creatieve onderneming. Voorbij de grenzen aan de welvaart ligt een welvaart die alleen grenzen ons kunnen laten zien. Een bestemming die de reis waard is. Morgen is een ander land.” (p. 66). Dus we moeten op zoek naar een cultuur die minder materieel is en meer welzijn haalt uit zingevende ‘post growth’ activiteiten.
Dit gezegd hebbende gaat hij op zoek naar verhalen om zo’n postgrowth-narratief te ontwikkelen, een nieuwe funderingsmythe voorbij de mythe van de groei, en van het kapitalisme. In een aantal korte hoofdstukken beschrijft hij een aantal inspirerende personen, zoals Robert Kennedy, John Stuart Mill, Thich Nhat Hanh, Hannah Arendt, Emily Dickinson, en situaties zoals de lage brug bij Potter Heigham en de lockdowns in Corona tijd.
Het blijft helaas bij een sympatieke poging om een "beperkende" situatie tot een "rijke" ervaring te maken.
Een uitgebreide bespreking is te lezen op Civis Mundi #134
January 6, 2025
In this book, Tim Jackson provides a compelling explanation of how Capitalism requires an infinite trajectory of growth that is demonstrably impossible, while also providing a tangible alternative road map of how to prosper in a post growth economy. Beyond the established damning critiques of Capitalism, such as obscene inequality, unjustifiable extraction and poverty, and documented life threatening damage to the ecosystem, Jackson harvests wisdom from respected philosophers in history to develop a compass that points the way out of our failing oligarchic dystopia.
Jackson highlights the futile efforts of players in the Capitalist system to sustain the unsustainable. To achieve the growth required to sustain Capitalism, consumers must continually purchase new products—it makes no difference whether or not they need those products. To this end, marketers and advertisers go to extensive lengths to get people to first feel unsatisfied with their current condition and then to seek satisfaction through the purchase of an unending chain of new products. For this system to work, the consumers must first believe that the new products marketed will satisfy their artificially conjured cravings—then these same consumers must quickly feel unsatisfied with their new condition and continually purchase new material things that are promised to satisfy but deliberately designed to not satisfy consumers' cravings so they will continually purchase more through an infinite timeline. These mind games and manipulation of emotion must stop.
Jackson places these observations in context by drawing on respected historical philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and John Maynard Keynes, who envisioned a time when production and consumption were not the main reasons for being. The point is that true satisfaction is gained—after essential needs of food, shelter, and security are met—through means other than accumulation of material things. Jackson names factors of what he calls Flow as the essentials of a satisfying life such as physical sports, craft and creative activities, social interactions, romantic relationships, and contemplative practices such as meditation.
Capitalism knows nothing of the concept of enough is enough. How much food can you eat? How many houses can you live in? Is it worth denying others their essential subsistence? Jackson observes that socialism for the rich and austerity for the poor is the essence of Capitalism, including privatization of profits and the socialization of costs. As ecological investment is an absolute prerequisite for sustainable prosperity, real power fulfills its obligations, which is something extractive Capitalism is designed not to do. Jackson points out that reciprocity is the cornerstone of society—before and after Capitalism finally falls, that human reciprocity in altruistic exchange is an excellent goal for all to pursue.
Jackson highlights the futile efforts of players in the Capitalist system to sustain the unsustainable. To achieve the growth required to sustain Capitalism, consumers must continually purchase new products—it makes no difference whether or not they need those products. To this end, marketers and advertisers go to extensive lengths to get people to first feel unsatisfied with their current condition and then to seek satisfaction through the purchase of an unending chain of new products. For this system to work, the consumers must first believe that the new products marketed will satisfy their artificially conjured cravings—then these same consumers must quickly feel unsatisfied with their new condition and continually purchase new material things that are promised to satisfy but deliberately designed to not satisfy consumers' cravings so they will continually purchase more through an infinite timeline. These mind games and manipulation of emotion must stop.
Jackson places these observations in context by drawing on respected historical philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and John Maynard Keynes, who envisioned a time when production and consumption were not the main reasons for being. The point is that true satisfaction is gained—after essential needs of food, shelter, and security are met—through means other than accumulation of material things. Jackson names factors of what he calls Flow as the essentials of a satisfying life such as physical sports, craft and creative activities, social interactions, romantic relationships, and contemplative practices such as meditation.
Capitalism knows nothing of the concept of enough is enough. How much food can you eat? How many houses can you live in? Is it worth denying others their essential subsistence? Jackson observes that socialism for the rich and austerity for the poor is the essence of Capitalism, including privatization of profits and the socialization of costs. As ecological investment is an absolute prerequisite for sustainable prosperity, real power fulfills its obligations, which is something extractive Capitalism is designed not to do. Jackson points out that reciprocity is the cornerstone of society—before and after Capitalism finally falls, that human reciprocity in altruistic exchange is an excellent goal for all to pursue.
April 13, 2023
Read paperback edition of Post Growth: Life After Capitalism.
Capitalism has "got it wrong" is the message.
It is wrong to have Capitalism focus on and propagate the idea for individuals to 'accumulate stuff' continuously.
Some interesting ideas - some ideas I think better expressed by Kate Raworth in "Doughnut Economics"
Some review of the original thoughts/thinking of Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and others - whose views were carefully cherry picked and made absolutist to sustain the Myth (Religion) of the Free Market.
Capitalism especially how it is practiced in the Anglo-Saxon world focuses principally on Growth/Rate of Growth. Other items/areas community health, environment....etc. are not considered. Hence the establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals by the U.N. and etc.
Message is that Capitalism needs to change - how by making those not well served by Capitalism aware of their options, change thru ballot box; change thru protests in the streets.
Jackson admits that Capitalism as its practiced has been corrupted.
Jackson describes what he believes is the challenge - 'proof' of solution is mainly left to the reader.
Even a casual observer of the curret U.S. 'Economic' Condition finds the Capitalist system not sharing the surplus profit generated broadly - (since perhaps the late 1970's) - with attendant income and wealth inequality. In addition to this observation; 'n' studies has defined the problem - any proposed solution that could reasonably be implemented in a reasonable timeframe at a reasonable cost (with any sort of public support)remains undocumented and unevaluated.
A new language concerning 'how do we talk about this' - is needed. I'm not sure "Post Growth" is the correct message - could too easily be maligned by the 'right wing' (taking you back to pre-industrial America) and etc. Perhaps the introduction of different goal sets in addition to GDP - measures of income inequality (Gini Coefficient) plus Measures of Health - life expectancy - Trend of Educational levels and etc. These are examples but having a broader goal set considering where the U.S.is - and where it want to be in reference to these goals may be a starting point for dialogue in this area.
The pushback will be quick and strong - (Free Market Myth) - that Government govern best that Governs least....Need to have a rationale on which, if any non-GDP goals the U.S. Government should be involved with, what position they take, how they will implement policies and how much it will cost and how it will be measured.
Changing how Capitalism is practiced is a tall but necessary order.
Enrolling people in this change agency.
Carl Gallozzi
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
Capitalism has "got it wrong" is the message.
It is wrong to have Capitalism focus on and propagate the idea for individuals to 'accumulate stuff' continuously.
Some interesting ideas - some ideas I think better expressed by Kate Raworth in "Doughnut Economics"
Some review of the original thoughts/thinking of Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and others - whose views were carefully cherry picked and made absolutist to sustain the Myth (Religion) of the Free Market.
Capitalism especially how it is practiced in the Anglo-Saxon world focuses principally on Growth/Rate of Growth. Other items/areas community health, environment....etc. are not considered. Hence the establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals by the U.N. and etc.
Message is that Capitalism needs to change - how by making those not well served by Capitalism aware of their options, change thru ballot box; change thru protests in the streets.
Jackson admits that Capitalism as its practiced has been corrupted.
Jackson describes what he believes is the challenge - 'proof' of solution is mainly left to the reader.
Even a casual observer of the curret U.S. 'Economic' Condition finds the Capitalist system not sharing the surplus profit generated broadly - (since perhaps the late 1970's) - with attendant income and wealth inequality. In addition to this observation; 'n' studies has defined the problem - any proposed solution that could reasonably be implemented in a reasonable timeframe at a reasonable cost (with any sort of public support)remains undocumented and unevaluated.
A new language concerning 'how do we talk about this' - is needed. I'm not sure "Post Growth" is the correct message - could too easily be maligned by the 'right wing' (taking you back to pre-industrial America) and etc. Perhaps the introduction of different goal sets in addition to GDP - measures of income inequality (Gini Coefficient) plus Measures of Health - life expectancy - Trend of Educational levels and etc. These are examples but having a broader goal set considering where the U.S.is - and where it want to be in reference to these goals may be a starting point for dialogue in this area.
The pushback will be quick and strong - (Free Market Myth) - that Government govern best that Governs least....Need to have a rationale on which, if any non-GDP goals the U.S. Government should be involved with, what position they take, how they will implement policies and how much it will cost and how it will be measured.
Changing how Capitalism is practiced is a tall but necessary order.
Enrolling people in this change agency.
Carl Gallozzi
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
April 10, 2025
Beautifully written, but ultimately left me cold.
Tim Jackson’s Post Growth is poetic, wide-ranging, and earnest in its values. He clearly cares about crafting a future where wellbeing, dignity, and sustainability take precedence over the blind pursuit of economic growth. As someone who shares those values, I wanted to love this book. But while it paints an evocative picture of what might be, it largely sidesteps the crucial question of how we get there.
At times, it feels like style over substance. I now know Jackson enjoys poetry, sailing, Buddhism, and maybe tennis—but I was hoping for more economic rigour. His treatment of Modern Monetary Theory is breezy at best, dismissing it as “just” ideology and inflation, without grappling with the nuances or practical implications (which, as recent years have shown, are very real and often hardest on those with least).
One moment that really stuck with me: a Treasury official asks how they’re supposed to turn up to the G20 with a “sad-looking GDP,” and rather than explore that tension, Jackson shrugs and walks away. It’s an emblematic move. If we’re serious about moving beyond GDP, we need more than nice metaphors and gentle moralising—we need robust ideas that engage directly with the power structures and incentives that hold growth in place.
The book’s critique of work and labour also leaned heavily on elite philosophical framings (Arendt, Mill), often overlooking the classed, embodied, and neurodivergent realities of working life. There’s a moment where Pavlov’s dogs are used to make a point about future-oriented thinking, but it wildly misrepresents what conditioning actually is—a small moment, perhaps, but revealing of the book’s occasionally shaky grasp of behavioural science.
In the end, I appreciate Jackson’s heart—but I needed more hands. “Don’t be a dick,” “chill,” and “maybe civil disobedience?” are not viable strategies for reimagining a global economic system. I came to this book as a hopeful idealist seeking functional ideas. What I found was a lovely essay that whispers, “Wouldn’t it be nice?”. It made me realise I’m ready for someone to say, “Here’s how.”
That said, I've interrogated and thought about some specific historical and philosophical ideas I wasn't aware of, or only had an intuitive, lay awareness - so it wasn't without any value. I breezed through it in a couple days and had a nice time doing so.
Tim Jackson’s Post Growth is poetic, wide-ranging, and earnest in its values. He clearly cares about crafting a future where wellbeing, dignity, and sustainability take precedence over the blind pursuit of economic growth. As someone who shares those values, I wanted to love this book. But while it paints an evocative picture of what might be, it largely sidesteps the crucial question of how we get there.
At times, it feels like style over substance. I now know Jackson enjoys poetry, sailing, Buddhism, and maybe tennis—but I was hoping for more economic rigour. His treatment of Modern Monetary Theory is breezy at best, dismissing it as “just” ideology and inflation, without grappling with the nuances or practical implications (which, as recent years have shown, are very real and often hardest on those with least).
One moment that really stuck with me: a Treasury official asks how they’re supposed to turn up to the G20 with a “sad-looking GDP,” and rather than explore that tension, Jackson shrugs and walks away. It’s an emblematic move. If we’re serious about moving beyond GDP, we need more than nice metaphors and gentle moralising—we need robust ideas that engage directly with the power structures and incentives that hold growth in place.
The book’s critique of work and labour also leaned heavily on elite philosophical framings (Arendt, Mill), often overlooking the classed, embodied, and neurodivergent realities of working life. There’s a moment where Pavlov’s dogs are used to make a point about future-oriented thinking, but it wildly misrepresents what conditioning actually is—a small moment, perhaps, but revealing of the book’s occasionally shaky grasp of behavioural science.
In the end, I appreciate Jackson’s heart—but I needed more hands. “Don’t be a dick,” “chill,” and “maybe civil disobedience?” are not viable strategies for reimagining a global economic system. I came to this book as a hopeful idealist seeking functional ideas. What I found was a lovely essay that whispers, “Wouldn’t it be nice?”. It made me realise I’m ready for someone to say, “Here’s how.”
That said, I've interrogated and thought about some specific historical and philosophical ideas I wasn't aware of, or only had an intuitive, lay awareness - so it wasn't without any value. I breezed through it in a couple days and had a nice time doing so.
September 27, 2023
This is a thought-provoking analysis of why capitalism has failed, why it is incompatible with social justice, and why the drive for continued growth threatens our collective wellbeing.
Among many interesting discussions, Jackson contrasts the different routes taken by capitalism and Buddhism in response to the basic fact of suffering. Capitalism recognises that suffering is inevitable in the struggle for existence, puts competition at the heart of the state, and relies on encouraging and manipulating people's cravings in order to feed the market, while Buddhism teaches that suffering can only be alleviated by freeing ourselves from craving, (presumably, once basic needs have been met). But, as Jackson points out, it's not for those in power to try and persuade the powerless to give up their cravings, especially when privilege is distributed unjustly. So how do we get to the point where enough people do, in fact, give up enough cravings to lessen our impact on the planet? Jackson offers us alternative visions of co-operation rather than competition, of grassroots activism and civil disobedience. He doesn’t give us a magic bullet for rapid transformation of the global economy, although he does point to the speed with which some governments were able to implement widespread measures for essential wellbeing during the Covid 19 pandemic. The book left me with more questions than answers, but even recognising the questions that need to be asked feels like progress of a kind. I found this book highly readable and ultimately hope-giving.
Among many interesting discussions, Jackson contrasts the different routes taken by capitalism and Buddhism in response to the basic fact of suffering. Capitalism recognises that suffering is inevitable in the struggle for existence, puts competition at the heart of the state, and relies on encouraging and manipulating people's cravings in order to feed the market, while Buddhism teaches that suffering can only be alleviated by freeing ourselves from craving, (presumably, once basic needs have been met). But, as Jackson points out, it's not for those in power to try and persuade the powerless to give up their cravings, especially when privilege is distributed unjustly. So how do we get to the point where enough people do, in fact, give up enough cravings to lessen our impact on the planet? Jackson offers us alternative visions of co-operation rather than competition, of grassroots activism and civil disobedience. He doesn’t give us a magic bullet for rapid transformation of the global economy, although he does point to the speed with which some governments were able to implement widespread measures for essential wellbeing during the Covid 19 pandemic. The book left me with more questions than answers, but even recognising the questions that need to be asked feels like progress of a kind. I found this book highly readable and ultimately hope-giving.
February 14, 2022
1 – The Myth of Growth
p.3 – Every culture, every society, clings to a myth by which it lives. Ours is the myth of growth. For as long as the economy continues to expand, we feel assured that life is getting better. We believe that we are progressing – not just as individuals but as a society. We convince ourselves that the world tomorrow will be a brighter, shinier place for our children and for their children. When the opposite happens, disillusionment beckons. Collapse threatens our stability.
p.4 – The broad thesis of this book is that good lives do not have to cost the earth. Material progress has changed our lives – in many ways for the better. But the burden of having can obscure the joy of belonging. The obsession with producing can distort the fulfilment of making. The pressure of consuming can undermine the simple lightness of being. Recovering prosperity is not so much about denial as about opportunity.
7 – The Return to Work
p.110 – The entire concept of a market economy – and its advantage over a subsistence economy – is that labour can generate what is called a surplus. Each worker can produce more than is required for their own survival. These surplus goods can be exchanged for income. This income can be spent elsewhere on things that other workers have produced.
p.3 – Every culture, every society, clings to a myth by which it lives. Ours is the myth of growth. For as long as the economy continues to expand, we feel assured that life is getting better. We believe that we are progressing – not just as individuals but as a society. We convince ourselves that the world tomorrow will be a brighter, shinier place for our children and for their children. When the opposite happens, disillusionment beckons. Collapse threatens our stability.
p.4 – The broad thesis of this book is that good lives do not have to cost the earth. Material progress has changed our lives – in many ways for the better. But the burden of having can obscure the joy of belonging. The obsession with producing can distort the fulfilment of making. The pressure of consuming can undermine the simple lightness of being. Recovering prosperity is not so much about denial as about opportunity.
7 – The Return to Work
p.110 – The entire concept of a market economy – and its advantage over a subsistence economy – is that labour can generate what is called a surplus. Each worker can produce more than is required for their own survival. These surplus goods can be exchanged for income. This income can be spent elsewhere on things that other workers have produced.
June 7, 2024
"Tim holds degrees in mathematics (MA, Cambridge), philosophy (MA, Uni Western Ontario) and physics (PhD, St Andrews)."
Still, the guy presents itself as an "ecological economist". No wonder he does not understand much about the subject.
This might be one of the obnoxious, vague and rethorical books I've ever read. Which I guess it would be more or less what would happen if I took a lot of drugs and then thought myself capable of writing a book about why everything in the field of physics is bullshit and I know better, huh Tim?
Such a gross and embrassing misunderstanding (or manipulation) of what economics, GDP, growth, capitalism, policy are and/or are supposed to be. Don't even get me started on the lies about the trend in economics indicators he describes (just Google it!), and how these false figures magically lead to Timmy's story through ambiguous or simply illogical thought processes.
Thought I guess the worst thing about this book is that IT IS NOT EVEN CLEAR WHAT THE MAIN ARGUMENT IS! I guess I'll have to look for better written sources explaining what's the alternative to growth, since it is supposedly dead.
Still, the guy presents itself as an "ecological economist". No wonder he does not understand much about the subject.
This might be one of the obnoxious, vague and rethorical books I've ever read. Which I guess it would be more or less what would happen if I took a lot of drugs and then thought myself capable of writing a book about why everything in the field of physics is bullshit and I know better, huh Tim?
Such a gross and embrassing misunderstanding (or manipulation) of what economics, GDP, growth, capitalism, policy are and/or are supposed to be. Don't even get me started on the lies about the trend in economics indicators he describes (just Google it!), and how these false figures magically lead to Timmy's story through ambiguous or simply illogical thought processes.
Thought I guess the worst thing about this book is that IT IS NOT EVEN CLEAR WHAT THE MAIN ARGUMENT IS! I guess I'll have to look for better written sources explaining what's the alternative to growth, since it is supposedly dead.
October 20, 2024
Jackson is a household name in the critique of economics obsessed with (GDP) growth. His 2009 book Prosperity without Growth was a huge eye-opener for me personally, so I was eagerly anticipating this book.
He is not only an economist but also a playwright. His forays into philosophy and literature are a welcome feature of his writings, contrasting well with the dry economics of your typical Marxist, for example. This time, however, he takes it to the next level.
Contrary to the title, he doesn't venture deep into concrete life after capitalism. Instead of exploring the care economy or the wellbeing economy, we get a lot of personal anecdotes, notably the one about Bobby Kennedy's famous Kansas address in which he condemns GDP for measuring everything except what makes life worth living.
It felt a bit as if Jackson had already said all he had to say about the case for a post-growth, post-capitalist world, and was looking for a more spiritual underpinning to the struggle. This may appeal to some readers, but others will be a little disappointed with the lack of practical guidance.
He is not only an economist but also a playwright. His forays into philosophy and literature are a welcome feature of his writings, contrasting well with the dry economics of your typical Marxist, for example. This time, however, he takes it to the next level.
Contrary to the title, he doesn't venture deep into concrete life after capitalism. Instead of exploring the care economy or the wellbeing economy, we get a lot of personal anecdotes, notably the one about Bobby Kennedy's famous Kansas address in which he condemns GDP for measuring everything except what makes life worth living.
It felt a bit as if Jackson had already said all he had to say about the case for a post-growth, post-capitalist world, and was looking for a more spiritual underpinning to the struggle. This may appeal to some readers, but others will be a little disappointed with the lack of practical guidance.
June 14, 2021
Maybe his other books are better, I don't know. This is a quite contemplative book, not so structured. Its title and subtitle are slightly misleading I feel, the author does describe what he thinks is important in life but does not touch on his view on post growth or post capitalism nor a way towards it. The book is also not so fair on capitalism/our current system. It points out all whats wrong and surely its not great but it is well known that in many ways the lives of people are now better off then ever before.
Whats just plain misleading and wrong is where he invokes entropy as the key physical reason that growth on our planet cannot continue forever. Entropy is a rather complex physical quantity for which holds that "the entropy of isolated systems left to spontaneous evolution cannot decrease with time". The problem is that our planet is not a closed system as the solar energy influx is quite . Surely there are physical limits to growth of e.g. consumption or population on our planet, but entropy is not the reason.
Whats just plain misleading and wrong is where he invokes entropy as the key physical reason that growth on our planet cannot continue forever. Entropy is a rather complex physical quantity for which holds that "the entropy of isolated systems left to spontaneous evolution cannot decrease with time". The problem is that our planet is not a closed system as the solar energy influx is quite . Surely there are physical limits to growth of e.g. consumption or population on our planet, but entropy is not the reason.
October 13, 2021
Balance, not growth, is the essence of prosperity.
Seems obvious isn't it? But our current economic system does not support this. Keep struggling and acquiring more and more it says.
Discontentment is the motivation for our restless desire to spend. Consumer products must promise paradise. But they must systematically fail to deliver
This is the best iPhone we have ever made (shelf life - 12 months).
Beyond that point, though, the additional benefits of having more money seem to diminish quite rapidly.
If you are struggling to make ends meet, sure aim to earn more money. But if you are already rich enough, what should you be aiming at?
But the burden of having can obscure the joy of belonging.
Being a part of the community. That means letting go, helping others, and keeping that ego in check.
Our most adaptive strategy is one that holds a place for competition without sacrificing the value of cooperation.
Go figure!
Seems obvious isn't it? But our current economic system does not support this. Keep struggling and acquiring more and more it says.
Discontentment is the motivation for our restless desire to spend. Consumer products must promise paradise. But they must systematically fail to deliver
This is the best iPhone we have ever made (shelf life - 12 months).
Beyond that point, though, the additional benefits of having more money seem to diminish quite rapidly.
If you are struggling to make ends meet, sure aim to earn more money. But if you are already rich enough, what should you be aiming at?
But the burden of having can obscure the joy of belonging.
Being a part of the community. That means letting go, helping others, and keeping that ego in check.
Our most adaptive strategy is one that holds a place for competition without sacrificing the value of cooperation.
Go figure!
May 19, 2022
Het boek is vlot geschreven, hoewel ik niet precies weet naar waar het heen ging )
Het leek op een treinreis met geblindeerde ramen , waar je terug uitstapt waar je stond , er waren interessante mede reizigers, ( Margulis, Boltzmann, Thich Nhat Hanh enz ) en wijsheden , er is geen weg naar huis , de weg is ons thuis , Of eentje dat ikzelf uitvind als je genoeg hebt , heb je veel. ....
( tot je nadenkt over de toekomst dan heb je tekort , .... er reist altijd een pessimist met me mee )
De Sapiens is een nogal polariserend wezen en de voeten en neuzen staan wat gericht naar de uitersten, hij/ zij wint ook graag dus moet er wat competitie zijn ( ten koste van verliezers) , en in zijn/haar oplossingen zitten altijd al zaadjes van nieuwe problemen ( waarvan ik er bij de energie elektrificatie wel al enkele kan zien ontkiemen )
De weg is ons thuis ...... waarschijnlijk weten diegene die vooraan lopen ook niet waar ze heen gaan .
Het leek op een treinreis met geblindeerde ramen , waar je terug uitstapt waar je stond , er waren interessante mede reizigers, ( Margulis, Boltzmann, Thich Nhat Hanh enz ) en wijsheden , er is geen weg naar huis , de weg is ons thuis , Of eentje dat ikzelf uitvind als je genoeg hebt , heb je veel. ....
( tot je nadenkt over de toekomst dan heb je tekort , .... er reist altijd een pessimist met me mee )
De Sapiens is een nogal polariserend wezen en de voeten en neuzen staan wat gericht naar de uitersten, hij/ zij wint ook graag dus moet er wat competitie zijn ( ten koste van verliezers) , en in zijn/haar oplossingen zitten altijd al zaadjes van nieuwe problemen ( waarvan ik er bij de energie elektrificatie wel al enkele kan zien ontkiemen )
De weg is ons thuis ...... waarschijnlijk weten diegene die vooraan lopen ook niet waar ze heen gaan .
June 7, 2022
La prosa di Jackson è accattivante: prendendo spunto dalle biografie di alcuni personaggi storici riesce a mostrare alcune possibili alternative al capitalismo così come si presenta oggi. In termini generali, la sua critica non ha elementi particolarmente originali: tra questi, il tema già noto degli indici che dovrebbero regolare diversamente il PIL, tenendo conto di fattori di vita più 'umani'.
Vista però come una critica costruttiva in seno al capitalismo (cosa che è bene chiarirlo: non è), il testo assume un valore positivo. Le biografie che vengono citate, come quella di Robert F. Kennedy, sono una fonte di ispirazione per i lettori. L'Occidente sarà in grado di fondare un nuovo mito, che riduca il peso preponderante del progresso materiale e la crisi ambientale e sociale che questo ha generato? Il testo di Jackson non offre molte risposte, anzi forse nessuna, ma è un buon mezzo per riflettere su questi temi.
Vista però come una critica costruttiva in seno al capitalismo (cosa che è bene chiarirlo: non è), il testo assume un valore positivo. Le biografie che vengono citate, come quella di Robert F. Kennedy, sono una fonte di ispirazione per i lettori. L'Occidente sarà in grado di fondare un nuovo mito, che riduca il peso preponderante del progresso materiale e la crisi ambientale e sociale che questo ha generato? Il testo di Jackson non offre molte risposte, anzi forse nessuna, ma è un buon mezzo per riflettere su questi temi.
May 13, 2023
"Maybe we have not yet traveled far enough along the road to democracy." This book shows the road toward a democracy which supports it's citizens in the pursuit of genuine prosperity.
A prosperity measured by the abundance of a person's work, service, happiness, relationships, creativity and health. Jackson demonstrates the fallacy of measuring a person's worth by their material value or collection of things and gives us guidelines for designing a better future.
If you've ever wondered why you feel so empty after a shopping trip, or why your wallet never seems to have enough cash, or how it happened that our elders are shuffled aside to long term care homes without sufficient resources to keep them safe, comfortable and healthy, this book has some answers.
Read it and be empowered to make, and demand, changes so we can all thrive in the future.
A prosperity measured by the abundance of a person's work, service, happiness, relationships, creativity and health. Jackson demonstrates the fallacy of measuring a person's worth by their material value or collection of things and gives us guidelines for designing a better future.
If you've ever wondered why you feel so empty after a shopping trip, or why your wallet never seems to have enough cash, or how it happened that our elders are shuffled aside to long term care homes without sufficient resources to keep them safe, comfortable and healthy, this book has some answers.
Read it and be empowered to make, and demand, changes so we can all thrive in the future.
December 15, 2023
This book offered a treatise to abandon our current growth oriented way of living. Jackson poetically offers an account for why and how we should re-embed the life giving values into the heart of our living and working systems. Jackson unpacks the perverse functions of capitalism which has contributed to the looming ecological collapse as well as the strains which are increasingly placed upon the fabric of our societies. The golden age of capitalism is over, no longer can growth cover up its cracks. A solution must be radical, and our economic and social priorities must be shifted. The role of the state is key. As shown by the recent pandemic, governments can act rapidly and pragmatically if they wish. Civil Disobedience, as Henry Thoreau would argue is morally permissible in the face of inaction.
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