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My question to the climate change panel:

Martin Tye

So we have a community meeting on climate change on Thursday. An eminent panel will no doubt talk about how dire the situation is & the need for change. Here is... the question I will be asking:

"Given that climate change is really just one of a broad set of unfolding ecological disasters, which WILL reflect themselves into the broader economic & social realms, …a set of disasters which includes: species extinctions, waste build ups not only in our atmosphere but also in our rivers, soils & oceans, water scarcity, deforestation, etc …the list is long.

..& given that all of these have a common connection- that is the fact that we have grown massively into overshoot,
..& given that the root cause of this overshoot is our obsession with endless economic growth- driven by both population growth & ever increasing consumption,
..& given that time is simultaneously fast running out for action on ALL of these fronts

Do you think that there is a risk, that by focusing almost exclusively on just one of the symptoms – climate change -- that we are being distracted from addressing the real challenge of our times-
That is, what I call “REDEFINING GROWTH”

- moving away from our obsession with ever bigger economies, so called GDP growth, as the sole measure of economic, political & social development, & adopting a broader set of performance indicators which better reflect the true hopes & aspirations of all people.

I believe that only by pushing for this fundamental change in the way we organise our economies will we have any hope of addressing not only climate change, but also, all of the other economic, social & ecological challenges of our time.

What do you think about the need for Redefining Growth?

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So here it is- My entry in the "8th way to think like a C21st economist" competition:

Co-operation and Teamwork
(The 8th way to think like a 21st century economist)
By Martin Tye

...

Economics is about to get a whole lot more complex and in doing so, a whole lot more exciting. No longer ruled by simplistic economic formulae and narrow definitions of what human beings want or need, the new economist, in addition to economics, will need to understand ecosystems & the social (quality of life) outcomes desired by human beings.

Our environment underpins everything, yet how many of today’s economists know anything about the complex set of relationships which sustain an ecologically healthy planet? How many have a grasp of our planet’s physical capacity to provide our inputs and absorb our wastes? What are the limits? …and what is the price to be paid for exceeding them? What role does nature play as a healer, and in the promotion of health & well-being within any society? Which economist today, understands these things? How can anyone possibly construct an economic system for the long term benefit of the people without this knowledge? This has been an enormous void in economic thinking for too long.

But it doesn’t get any easier for the economist, as they must also understand the human mind and body, and what it is that makes people happy. How do people want to balance working life and family? What motivates people? What inspires people? Our new breed of economist will need to understand how all this feeds into healthy communities, productive workers and into healthy thriving economies.
The goal of a 21st century economist is no longer simply to “grow the economy”, that is far too narrow and simplistic and has proven to be a destructive and unsustainable goal. The new goal is to create economies which operate in a state of dynamic balance, perpetual economies, which operate within ecological limits to progress human well-being.
Ecology and sociology are large fields and, with their addition to our model, it will be vital that our new economists have an understanding of these concepts. But in order to gain the clarity and depth of insight needed they will need to learn to work in a team. An ability to co-operate with other disciplines will be vital. To take advice and input from ecologists, sociologists, and on occasion others, to be able to process and understand this advice, and then to blend this input into a coherent and workable economic system is no small challenge, but one I believe we are up to. We have so many great minds just waiting to be given a clear focus and to be “let loose on the problem”.
Economists cannot do this alone, working as part of a team with other disciplines is the only way.
“Co-operation and teamwork” is the 8th way to think like a 21st century economist.

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