Degrowth Conference 2020 Paper

Below is the Abstract and Academic Paper I wrote for the ‘Degrowth Conference’ being held by the International Society of Ecological Economist (ISCC) in Manchester, UK in September 2020. While it can be read online here, I would be pleased to email a PDF of the material. Just send a request to lory.kaufman@gmail.com. 

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I became fascinated with the subject called ‘ecological economics’ while writing my science-fiction books, The Verona Trilogy. I wanted my story’s main characters to come from a future civilization which had figured out to run a world that won’t collapse because humans have overpopulated the planet and consumed more than their share of its natural wealth. And, as I wanted to make sure the future world I created was based on science, I dove deep and spent years researching population, the history of economics, money, alternative economies and so much more. This is when I learned the term ‘steady-state economics’ and I was hooked.

The title of my paper, and the presentation I will give at the conference is, The Benefits of Creating Comprehensive Models for Working Steady-State Economies and an Example of One. It takes the envisaging of the future in my storytelling and brings it back to our world’s current and very real situation, the first step in convincing people to want to live in a steady-state world like my fictional characters.

Abstract

The Benefits of Creating Comprehensive Models for 

Working Steady-State Economies and an Example of One

This paper suggests that if the studies of many researchers and activists are combined to describe an actual model of a working steady-state economy, it could help the public understand what we’re trying to do better than the individual studies we work on now. The paper also points out how it took over 50 years for the public to be educated enough about ecology to create a critical mass of people large enough to demand action be taken on what’s been dubbed the climate emergency. It’s then posited the changes needed to correct the climate emergency can’t happen quickly enough to be effective until a similar critical mass of people comes together to insist that society changes from an economic growth model to a steady-state one. In short, I attempt to prove that this must be the next big message because we don’t have another 50 years to wait, and the marketing of a big-picture approach (of describing the nuts-and-bolts of a working steady-state economy) will be much more effective in getting the public get on board with broad support. The paper describes the societal mindsets that need to change to keep a steady-state economy going in perpetuity, the criteria any number of steady-state models must fulfill to function, and then includes my one example of how a long-term economy could be structured as a starting point. The aim is also to give a home for researchers of all disciplines to test their ideas against a steady-state model or to suggest a completely original one of their own.  

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Lory Kaufman

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

lory.kaufman@gmail.com

March  2020