Is “Sustainable Growth” an oxymoron?
Derrick Jensen thinks so.
AI! My bad, I forgot to introduce to you one of the most thought-provoking leaders of the global justice movement’s environmental wing: the philosopher, writer, and educator Derrick Jensen.
In a recent essay, he posits that most Euro-americans have ingrained the idea that the following two things are inherent qualities, and thus the destiny of, humanity:
1) Limitless technological expansion, and “its cousin”
2) Infinite economic growth
I like his thinking. The following bit struck me as well:
“…what, after all, is production? It is the conversion of the living to the dead…. And what, then, is gross national product? It is a measure of this conversion of the living to the dead. The more quicklwhat, after all, is production? It is the conversion of the living to the deady the living world is converted into dead products, the higher the GNP.”
Read the full article here and see how he answers the question above fully.
Hey cool thoughts, I’m about to review and comment on a book I just read which deals with the same premise about growth. (ie: sustainable growth is an oxymoron) The book is called “Plenitude” by Juliet Schor. I’m looking forward to reading the article you linked to.
| Posted 4 months agoHi Beth,
Thanks for the compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed the piece.
| Posted 3 months, 4 weeks agoPlenitude looks like an excellent read; I’ll have to check it out.