A steady state economy reading list

I’ve been curious about the idea of a steady state economy for some time – that is, an economy that doesn’t need to grow every year. Looking at the way our government is currently prepared to take fairly extreme measures to keep growth going, even to the point of selling out the future with massive debts, we need to stop and consider the real value of growth.

I believe it is ecologically, socially, and economically impossible to have continuous growth, and yet this is our stated ambition. As individuals and as a nation, we expect to be richer next year than this one, every single year. We expect to be able to afford more stuff, take more holidays, enjoy more luxuries. We will expect more every year, into the infinite future, regardless of the finite nature of our planet, and our overdrafts.

The way we are going is unsustainable, but what other ways are there to run an economy? What happens if we stop growing every year? Can we still provide for everyone? Will technological progress stop dead? Will wages ever rise? How will we make sure the poor aren’t left behind?

The idea of a zero-growth, steady-state economy is compelling, but I don’t know much about it. So, for my own benefit as much as anyone else’s, here’s my attempt to gather together some reading material on the subject.

Organisations

SteadyState.org – Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE)

International Society for Ecological Economics

Books

Daly, Townsend et al – Valuing the Earth: Economics, Ecology, Ethics

Herman Daly – Steady State Economics, and Beyond Growth

Brian Czech – Shoveling fuel for a runaway train: errant economists, shameful spenders, and a plan to stop them all.

Clive Hamilton – Growth Fetish

E F Schmacher – Small is Beautiful

E J Mishan -The Costs of Economic Growth

Articles, essays and reports:

Eliminating the need for economic growth, from The Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability

Herman Daly is Adbusters’ person of the year for 2008
Here’s the announcement, and here’s Daly’s article.

New Scientist special issue – Issue 2678, out 16/10/08 was a special issue on growth. Annoyingly this issue is sold out as a back issue – if anyone has a copy around, please let me know!

John Stuart Mill – Of the Stationary State

Garrett Hardin – The Tragedy of the Commons

Peak Oil, Peak Economy, from New Solutions

Blogs

Steady State Revolution

There will loads more out there. If you’ve got any recommendations, let me know and I’ll add them.