Stop trying to grow

Let's delete the 'Grow our economy' challenge. It's like trying to eat more to get thin or spend more to save money.

As long ago as 1972 a famous Club of Rome report called 'The Limits to Growth' pointed out that you cannot have unlimited growth on a planet with finite resources.

Common sense, basic economics, simple gardening or farming knowledge, and ecological thinking all agree - we cannot go on using more and more resources in pursuit of 'growth'. Politicians find it hard to face this fact, because they won't get elected unless they promise to chase growth. But growth means more tourism, more manufacturing, more carbon emitted, bigger farms, more damage to the environment, more loss of wildlife, more global heating... and so on.

There is an idea that we can have 'sustainable growth' - but there is no sustainable growth. There is only growth that looks better because the impact is hidden.

What a 'place' like Dorset can do is to set an example. We can look to rely more on our own communities, to grow more of our own food on smallholdings and allotments, to become more resilient in the face of external threats (as we did during the pandemic). Not to hunker down and isolate ourselves, but to pay attention to ways we can meet our needs locally, mending and repairing things together, sharing assets, working cooperatively - setting an example for other areas of the country.

Instead of a focus on growth we could have a focus on welfare, wellbeing, cooperation and community.

I have spent the last month editing a new book that analyses all the evidence on the future of economic growth and our current model of capitalism. The unequivocal conclusion is that the present system cannot last much longer. Let's get ahead of Westminster and look for ways to make Dorset an even better place to live without pursuing growth.

Why the contribution is important

'Growing our economy' is incompatible with responding to the climate crisis, tackling biodiversity loss, improving the environment, cleaning up our rivers. So it's imcompatible with DC's 'Respond to the climate crisis' challenge.

NOT growing our economy but paying attention to communities and cooperation and resilience will support DC's 'Communities for all' challenge. 

It's time to recognise that we cannot have unlimited growth in a county with finite resources.

by Gogently on August 25, 2024 at 09:08PM

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Comments

  • Posted by DorsetBoy September 05, 2024 at 11:05

    Growing the economy of local communities and thereby making Dorset a place where our young people want to stay and work (whether that is in the rural communities or in one of our towns) and the idea presented above are not mutually exclusive.
    I think that the growth of Dorset's (rural and town) communities should focus on developing pathways for our young people to have rewarding local careers that help strengthen their community. Why can we not pay those born and bred in Dorset a market forces supplement to stay an add value through a local trade or industry (either rural or market town based careers)?
    Instead, some leave the area and too many go onto benefits street or drift through a career in the gig economy.
    These are people that would have family and friends in Dorset and as such are likely to be highly motivated to see Dorset succeed not just for fulfilment of their own ambitions and life outcomes but also for the future benefit and security of the people and communities they love. Developing Dorset career pathways would help to build a resilient intergenerational legacy of taking pride in working and living in Dorset part of which would be about ensuring it remained a beautiful (and rewarding) place to live, work and visit (yup we will always need those grockles - as annoying as the traffic can be sometimes).
    So rather than huge growth from external business (who bring with them their own growth agendas) I would like to see Dorset community focussed qualitative growth in our local economy with a balance of investment in local communities from both Dorset based stakeholders and external business.
    Forget any significant funding from central government, it will never happen no matter which party is in charge because the central coffers are empty and whenever they are refilled Dorset always seems to be one of the last areas to receive any funding.
    As Dorset residents and communities we need to realise and accept that we are on our own. It will be necessary for us to stand on our own two feet and become more resilient to tackle the challenges and costs associated with e.g. an ageing demographic.
    Hopefully our communities can come together to harness the unique strengths of this county - because let's face it (and admittedly I am biased) Dorset is clearly the most stunningly beautiful English county and we need to maintain that USP rather than ruin it with too much growth - or the wrong type of growth.

  • Posted by EverestSkye September 10, 2024 at 12:55

    Thank you for adding this, I hope our council will take on board what you have said and use it as a platform to go on to do their own research in this area.

  • Posted by Dorset37 September 14, 2024 at 21:49

    Growth and sustainability are mutually exclusive.
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