Book Review: Prosperity Without Growth by Tim Jackson

This book was part of the reading list that I’ve put together as part of my attempt to define the Not So Big Society.

Jackson attempts to reconcile a key area of disagreement between economists and environmentalists. Economists tend to view prosperity as inextricably linked to economic growth. Ecologists and environmentalists insist that simply isn’t sustainable – the planetary resources are finite, oil production will eventually peak, and potentially catastrophic climate change is waiting in the wings. Sooner or later economic growth will hit the buffers. I was curious to see if this book would have anything to say about how we’re going to look after the most vulnerable members of society in the trials to come.

Pondering the Not So Big Society – A Reading List

As I mentioned on Friday, I’ve been musing the snarky title I gave this blog, and trying to flesh it out into an actual idea.

Something that I suspect will be of key relevance is the idea of the ‘Triple Crunch’ – the suggestion that industrial civilisation will face a threefold challenge of financial chaos, peak oil and climate change in the coming years and decades. I’m trying to avoid some of the usual cliches when talking about this subject matter, so I’ll merely state that “Perfect Storm” is a rather good movie starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.

The question is how to look after each other – and particularly the most vulnerable people in society – during the ongoing chaos. At present the Not So Big Society is a snappy title in search of a theory, but then the same is equally true of Cameron’s Big Society and Miliband’s Good Society.

If the theory is to be fleshed out, I think it’s time to do some reading (and in some cases viewing and listening). Here’s my reading list for what I hope will turn into an ongoing series of posts.