Introduction We need to ask ourselves some questions. Is there an upper limit to human numbers and human consumption? Can our economy keep growing forever? Should we just deny such difficult issues, and keep walking towards the abyss of societal and ecosystem collapse?[1] After 40
I recently watched a TED talk featuring Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister and prominent commentator on economic and political affairs in Europe. He said that within the largely independent economic sphere, corporate power has become unconscionably great. This excessive power, gained especially through
How do you measure love? What is the value of mess? When can you count on it? Accounting exists as a social practice and is increasingly present in our everyday lives. Accountants exude palpable levels of loyalty, trustworthiness and conservatism. They safeguard our profitable interests
Peter Kropotkin – the Russian Prince, famed scientist and anarchist thinker – wrote, in the 1890s, that a revolution will fail if it doesn’t secure its food supply: “Bread, it is bread that the Revolution needs!” Unless this happens, “the people began to grow weary. ‘So much for your vaunted Revolution! You are more wretched than ever before,’ whispered the reactionary in the ears of the worker. And little by little the rich took courage, emerged from their hiding-places, and flaunted their luxury in the face of the starving multitude. They dressed up like scented fops and said to the workers: ‘Come, enough of this foolery! What have you gained by rebellion?’”
It is time for a new research agenda to examine the worldview and ethics of ecological economics. Ethics must be central to any economic theory, and, if not addressed, our economy (and society) will stay on its present, destructive course and we will be unlikely to reach a truly sustainable future. An ecological or Earth ethics is now vital for the survival of life on Earth.
A Griffith Review event hosted by Paul Barclay, in conversation with The Nature Conservancy Australia’s Hugh Possingham, author and farmer Charles Massy and author Jane Gleeson-White. The past two decades have seen increasing emphasis on the economic benefits of conservation and biodiversity, attributing value to environmental goods