Addicted To Growth

This book takes a compelling approach to describing what is needed to create the kind of future that most people on Earth really want. Our global society is hopelessly addicted to a particular vision of the world and a future that has become both unsustainable and undesirable. Addicted to Growth frames our current predicament as a societal addiction to a ‘growth at all costs’ economic paradigm. While economic growth has produced many benefits, its side effects are now producing existential problems that are rapidly getting worse. Robert Costanza considers lessons from what works at the individual level to overcome addictions and applies them to a societal scale. Costanza recognises that the first step to recovery is recognising the addiction and that it is leading to disaster; however, simply pointing out the dire consequences of our societal addiction is only the first step and can be counterproductive by itself in motivating change. The key next step is creating a truly shared vision of the kind of world we all want, and the book explores creative ways to implement this societal therapy. The final step is using that shared vision to motivate the changes needed to achieve it, including adaptive transformations of our economic systems, property rights regimes, and governance institutions. An exciting contribution from a key thinker in the field, this book will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of public policy and sustainability studies, and anyone interested in understanding and overcoming our societal addiction to growth.

This book takes a compelling approach to describing what is needed to create the kind of future that most people on Earth really want. Our global society is hopelessly addicted to a particular vision of the world and a future that has become both unsustainable and undesirable. Addicted to Growth frames our current predicament as a societal addiction to a ‘growth at all costs’ economic paradigm. While economic growth has produced many benefits, its side effects are now producing existential problems that are rapidly getting worse. Robert Costanza considers lessons from what works at the individual level to overcome addictions and applies them to a societal scale. Costanza recognises that the first step to recovery is recognising the addiction and that it is leading to disaster; however, simply pointing out the dire consequences of our societal addiction is only the first step and can be counterproductive by itself in motivating change. The key next step is creating a truly shared vision of the kind of world we all want, and the book explores creative ways to implement this societal therapy. The final step is using that shared vision to motivate the changes needed to achieve it, including adaptive transformations of our economic systems, property rights regimes, and governance institutions. An exciting contribution from a key thinker in the field, this book will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of public policy and sustainability studies, and anyone interested in understanding and overcoming our societal addiction to growth.

This accessible and provocative book explores whether getting 'unhooked' from economic growth to meet the needs of the environment is possible. Although giving the environment priority over growth may seem radical, the author argues that it can be accomplished using marketable emissions allowances, transferable development rights, and other tools popular with conventional economists. It can also be achieved by creating more interesting and environmentally friendly urban landscapes less beholden to the automobile. The key problem will be ensuring that everyone who wants employment can find it. This will require a transition to a shorter workweek, the wistful goal of many a harried worker. More leisure, a higher-quality environment, and more attractive cities and towns are the potential rewards of a less consumption-oriented society. Yet how can the power of special interests be overcome in the name of environmental conservation? This is the author's critical final question as he offers a clear path to a sustainable economic and environmental future.

Alarming, amusing, disarmingly simple and to-the-point, The Population Fix describes the causes and the effects of America's addiction to population growth and explains how average citizens can regain control over misguided policies and politics.The Population Fix is an extraordinarily comprehensive analysis of the single most important factor affecting America's future. In plain English, this short volume demonstrates how out-of-control population growth exacerbates every problem facing America today and will necessarily rob future generations of an acceptable quality of life tomorrow. -Joseph L. Daleiden, author of The American Dream: Can It Survive The 21st Century?I approached The Population Fix expecting a dry dissertation. Nothing of the sort! This was a fast read. It addresses immigration-legal and illegal-but also, more broadly, the effects of rapid population growth upon Americans' quality of life. The upbeat style and hopeful countenance of the author keep the reader energized. I recommend this book to any American who cares about America's values, America's future, and the lives of future Americans.-Mark Krikorian, Executive Director Center for Immigration StudiesThe Population Fix asks: How many Americans are enough? That's the question every American should ask. This book paints the picture clearly for us; this is what America looks and feels like as we approach one billion residents. One billion! The author methodically pleads for each victim of runaway growth: the working commuter, the family struggling to find affordable housing, the unemployed engineer, the migrant living without protection or dignity, the disappearing farmland and the threatened wildlife. The Population Fix carefully draws out the human story behind our damaging immigration, tax, and legal policies and structures and begs the questions: "Why have we ignored this for the past two decades?" and "What can we do now?" -Richard D. Lamm, co-director of the Center for Public Policy & Contemporary Issues at the University of Denver

Break free from the self-help cycle and join the world of successful leaders. IN THIS GAME CHANGING BOOK YOU WILL LEARN: - How self doubt, procrastination and indecision create a cycle of self-help addiction - Why people invest in self-help books, courses, events and come out still feeling unaccomplished - How you can make your fears your friend and achieve anything your heart desires - The importance of always taking responsibility for what happens in your life - How much abundance there is in this world and that there is enough money, love and happiness for everyone to have a lifetime supply - How to go from a consumer to a creator - The art of taking action, because without action nothing gets done - How to become accountable so you avoid putting things off - The power of decisiveness and how to avoid feeling overwhelmed - The secret to getting high and staying high (without drugs) - Why you have already won - How the real hero, that you have searched so long and hard for, is you.

There is a fundamental denial at the centre of why we have an environmental crisis – a denial that ignores that endless physical growth on a finite planet is impossible. Nature provides the ecosystem services that support our civilisation, thus making humanity unavoidably dependent upon it. However, society continues to ignore and deny this dependence. A Future Beyond Growth explores the reason why the endless growth economy is fundamentally unsustainable and considers ways in which society can move beyond this to a steady state economy. The book brings together some of the deepest thinkers from around the world to consider how to advance beyond growth. The main themes consider the deep problems of the current system and key aspects of a steady state economy, such as population; throughput and consumerism; ethics and equity; and policy for change. The policy section and conclusion bring together these various themes and indicates how we can move past the growth economy to a truly sustainable future. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of economics, sustainability and environmental studies in general.