The two attempts to live up to the full binary logic of capitalism and socialism have both failed. In shaping tomorrow's economy, we have to re-prioritise social security,
welfare, and the values and aims of public service over "the tyranny of the GDP", writes Eric Hobsbawm.
Policymakers are edging towards recognising that GDP
is not an adequate index of our economic or societal well-being. Do we need to completely rethink the economic system to prioritise
sustainable prosperity over economic growth? Articles from The Ecologist and New Scientist.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was hailed as the triumph of
free market ideals. But even as the financial crisis exposes the weakness of this
simplistic approach to economic management, the debate has yet to move beyond it,
writes Michael Hirsh.
New approaches to economic thought are challenging classical
theories based on self-interested individuals whose decisions can be reduced to mathematical
equations – building a more realistic discipline with the potential to improve the human condition, writes Paul Ormerod.
In conventional economic thought, any increase in GDP is
good for the economy – even if it is created by encouraging needless
over-consumption. The result is a society in which people are literally
consuming themselves sick, writes Jonathan Rowe.
In acknowledging the limitations of GDP as a reflection
of well-being, President Sarkozy set up a commission to deliberate alternative
measures of social progress. Whilst the end report revealed the issue to a
wider public, it failed to contribute any new ideas, writes Jayati Ghosh.
China is investing heavily in Africa through development
projects aimed at exploiting the continent's natural resources. The potential
outcome is no less disastrous than any misguided colonial project of the past, says Khadija Sharife.
With only piecemeal reforms to the financial system made at
the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, the key tenets of market fundamentalist economic policies still prevail. Not until the global economic system is democratised will the world’s poor be given
priority over the wealthy few, argues Mark Engler.
The idea of a Tobin tax – a global tax on financial transactions – has
gained newfound popularity in the wake of the financial crisis. While the tax is
not a cure-all, it would send a strong message about the social value of global
finance, says Dani Rodrik.
National
income statistics such as GDP and gross national product are increasingly thought of as
measures of societal welfare, which they are not. Alternative indicators are needed to capture true well-being and sustainability, writes Joseph Stiglitz.
