• A New Economic Model

  Filed under sustainability
  Jan 16

  

  I have just read a wonderful article by Rex Weyler on the Greenpeace International Website which sums up my views on the economy far more eloquently than I could ever manage.

  The current economic model is focused on the amount of being spent, which is known as GDP (Gross Domestic Product).  For the economy to grow, we have to spend more money than we did the year before.  This means an ever-increasing consumption of resources.  However, we only have one planet’s worth of resources and not an infinite supply, so this way of working cannot be sustained forever.  I believe that we need a new economic model which measures success differently, using indicators of wellbeing and happiness, for example.

  In addition, Weyler points out:

  Ignoring nature has been the fundamental mistake of classical economics. Nature appears on no corporation’s balance sheet, so when forests disappear or when rivers die from pollutants, no one accounts for the missing assets. Economists presumed that nature would provide free resources and an infinite sink for waste and pollution. This was a big mistake.

  If you are interested in this sort of thing I highly recommend you read this article: Deep Green | Greenpeace International.

  Related posts:

  1. Join The Plot
  2. Peak Oil and Food Production
  3. Nestle and Baby Milk
  4. Are You Selfish?
  5. The Thrift Book: Live well and spend less, by India Knight
  2 Comments

2 Responses to “A New Economic Model”

1. 

   modeling said on April 8th, 2009 at 11:04 pm

   I agree with your article wholeheartedly. We can’t continue to spend more and more every year because our planet is unsustainable. The natural resources are starting to run out and we are having a difficult time putting more into the system when we have less than we ever have. However your idea of using indicators of wellbeing and happiness is a tad unrealistic. I think economists need some indicators that are more tangible and easier to measure, as those points you brought up vary in measurement from person to person and from country to country.

2. 

   rekindled said on April 11th, 2009 at 4:27 pm

   Perhaps using the words ‘wellbeing and happiness’ sounds a bit vague and fluffy. I agree that we need something that is easy to measure, but there are indicators of wellbeing and happiness that could be used, such as life expectancy and other measurements of health. Alternatively, perhaps psychometric tests could be used. Whatever measures are used, I think that we definitely need some kind of alternative to GDP, for the reasons I outlined above.

Leave a Reply