The logic of free-market capitalism states that the economy must grow
continuously or face an unpalatable collapse. With the environmental
situation reaching crisis point, however, it is time to stop pretending
that mindlessly chasing economic growth is compatible with
sustainability, argues Tim Jackson.
Markets reinvented the world, and nobody intended – or even envisaged – the outcome. Now the role of the left in an era of declining state power is to ensure
that the structures of governance are directed towards protecting all
equally.
The ideology of neoliberal globalization was not in fact a new idea in the history of the modern world-system, although it claimed to be one. It was rather the very old idea that the governments of the world should get out of the way of large, efficient enterprises in their efforts to prevail in the world market.
Given that the crises of inequality is the predictable effect of the
dismantling of public services and the deregulation of business and
financial markets, given that it damages the interests of nearly
everyone, how has neoliberalism come to dominate public life?
The fight against free trade is a fight for the right to
politico-economic democracy, public services, and a social wage, the
right not to be completely at the mercy of big capital.
What are the real trends of global economic growth, and how widely are the benefits of global trade shared? A close look at the evidence casts doubt on conventional optimism, writes Robert Wade.
Fifteen years after the prophesied borderless, stateless international economy, globalization has in fact reached its high water mark - and is receding.
