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Usually, growth comes from increased efficiency, and increased efficiency usually results in lower environmental impact. I don’t get how the degrowth movement
by hedora 2y ago
Usually, growth comes from increased efficiency, and increased efficiency usually results in lower environmental impact.
I don’t get how the degrowth movement can seriously argue that blocking that sort of progress would help the planet.
Instead, we should price in environmental externalities whenever possible.
E.g., want to manufacture plastic? Great. Recycle at least as much post consumer waste into feedstock equivalent to what you shipped, and also use atmospheric carbon capture to bring your net co2 emissions to zero, pay to clean up the air pollution, etc.
Of course, doing that would create GDP growth, and also require a growth in our energy supply.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- monkaiju 2y ago> Usually, growth comes from increased efficiency, and increased efficiency usually results in lower environmental impact. This is in fact very commonly not the case, to the point that its a standalone concept in Economics called Jevons Paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox
- rob74 2y agoWell, the same "political poison" argument that the article advances against "degrowth" can also be applied to your proposal (or any other proposal that benefits the environment): if they are followed, plastic gets more expensive, and all opposition parties will blame you for making people poorer because they now have to pay more for every single product packaged in plastic (conveniently ignoring of course that there are other ways to package products). The sad truth is that the environment doesn't vote in elections, people do, and people are generally selfish...
- nicoburns 2y agoI don't think many people are arguing against increased efficiency. They're arguing against growth-without-caveats-or-nuance as a goal. Which might seem like something one shouldn't have to argue against, but it has been a key part of the mainstream political ideology for the last few decades.