<
https://medium.com/volans/limits-to-growth-at-50-the-groundbreaking-study-that-failed-to-change-the-world-a8fe9ad6c18d>
"When it was published in 1972,
The Limits to Growth was both groundbreaking
and controversial. It warned that pursuing infinite growth on a finite planet
would lead to collapse. Half a century on, this is no longer a controversial
conclusion among scientists. But, in the corridors of power, the notion that
never-ending growth might not be desirable — or possible — remains a heresy.
Why has
The Limits to Growth and the “post-growth” movement it spawned been
such a failure in political terms? And what can it learn from the political
movement that
has succeeded in reshaping the world since the 1970s — namely,
neoliberalism?
If
Limits to Growth was the launch manifesto for the post-growth movement,
then Friedrich Hayek’s 1944 book,
The Road to Serfdom, is probably
neoliberalism’s closest equivalent. By the time
The Road to Serfdom reached
50, Thatcher and Reagan had come and gone, deregulation and privatisation were
in full swing pretty much everywhere (even — or rather, especially — in the
former Soviet Union), and political parties from the other end of the
ideological spectrum — the US Democrats, the British Labour Party, even the
Chinese Communist Party — had embraced neoliberal ideas and policies.
So what explains neoliberalism’s extraordinary political success?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
