SFi Book Recommendation – Prosperity Without Growth

2018-11-02

SFI BOOK RECOMMENDATION – PROSPERITY WITHOUT GROWTH Is the continued pursuit of exponential economic growth necessary for prosperity? This is the fundamental question at the heart of Tim Jackson’s book. First published in 2009, Tim analyzed the relationships between economic growth, environmental crisis and social recessions, and proposed a pathway to a sustainable economy, while calling for redefining “prosperity” in line with what contributes to people’s well-being.

“The default assumption is that – financial crises aside – growth will continue indefinitely. Not just for the poorest countries, where a better quality of life is undeniable needed, but even for the richest nations where the cornucopia of material wealth adds little to happiness and is beginning to threaten the foundations of our wellbeing.’

In this second edition updated and released in 2017, Tim expands further from his previous arguments that global economic models are broken and in need of fixing. He lays out a framework for “the economy of tomorrow.” By weaving together analysis of the nature of the enterprise as a form of a social organization, the quality of our working lives, the function of investments to support our future, and the role of money as a social good, Tim demonstrates how the economy of tomorrow can be transformed in ways that promote and facilitate social investment, reduce inequality and achieve both ecological and financial stability.

Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). His vision for CUSP builds on thirty years of multi-disciplinary research on sustainability and decades of policy experience, in particular his work as Economics Commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission. #BookRecommendation #SustainableEconomy