Economics in an Ecovillage Future

1
Economics in an Ecovillage Future

• Collapse and Renewal
• The coming growth bubble
• Post-bubble society

2
A time of crisis

• Global Warming
• Ecological Overload
• Extinction of species
• Infertility
• Peak Oil
• Water shortages
• Inequalities

3
How Did It Happen?

• Separation of Man from Nature
• Limits to growth
• Overpopulation
• Commercial/political alliance
• Lack of Global Governance
• A Flawed Economic Theory

4
Political/Economic Flaws

• No Limits to Growth
• Incomplete growth model
• Growth is not Well-being
• Commercial Dominance
• Inequities
• No Global Governance

5
No limits to Growth

• Relative pricing flaw
• Enviromental destruction
• Living off capital
• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
• Absolute scarcity

6
Incomplete Growth model

• Solow 1956-57
• Only capital and labor
• 75 unexplained

7
The Physicists Approach

• Robert Ayres (2009)
• Must include energy
• Effective work

8
The Growth Bubble

• 75 of growth due to energy
• Solow model only 4 !
• Peak oil -3 per annum

9
Growth is not Welfare

• Alternative indicators
• Genuine Progress Indicator

10
Financial Crisis 2007/09

• Not a resource crisis
• Due to systemic risk
• Unrestricted capital flow
• Deregulation and commercialism
• Greed mentality
• Crisis Predicted (Jackson 1999)
• An accident waiting to happen

11
Post-bubble

• Global hardship
• Demand for reforms
• The Gaian Paradigm
• Eartha living organism
• Everything connected
• Holistic
• Egalitarian

12
Gaian Economics

• An ecovillage future
• Decentralization diversity
• Not capitalist, not socialist, but Gaian
• Positive protectionism
• National sovereignty rules
• Capital controls

13
Gaian Economics (cond)

• Genuine Progress Indicator
• Internalize environmental costs (e.g. CO2
  emissions)
• Resource taxation
• Cradle to cradle production
• Social capital protection
• Political reform

14
New Global Institutions

• Gaian Trade Organization (GTO)
• Community of Nations (CN)
• Earth Council
• New reserve currency
• Gaia Bank

15
How to Get There?

• What about the G20, OECD, UN?
• No political will
• A failure of democracy
• The Bubble must burst

16
The Breakaway Strategy

• 5 or 6 minor nations
• Leave the WTO
• Form the GTO
• Form the Commmunity of Nations
• Invite Others to Join
• Grass roots support