Productivism

The heavily industrialised Czech Republic, overly focused on productivity, has lost its green momentum. But this can change.

An agroecological Europe could be the answer to a food system that’s bad for our health and damaging to our environment.

Ana Rusan traces some of the social and environmental consequences of New Deal America through the sociology of Allan Schnaiberg.

A report from Finland on textiles and the clothing industry’s future in a circular economy.

These days, the degrowth movement is not interested in provocation anymore. Instead it wants to stimulate discussions amongst the people who believe that it is possible to decolonise our minds. Vincent Liegey, the coordinator of the latest Degrowth Conference says that the movement’s impact is already visible in many party programmes

While providing valuable insights about the development of our economic system over time, Thomas Piketty’s work on capital suffers from a critical flaw: like so many economic frameworks, it ignores the limits of the finite resources of our planet – the fact that our ecological capital is rapidly running out. A new unit of measurement which takes this into account is urgently needed.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s investment plan to kickstart the European economy proposes solutions based on the outdated assumption that growth in terms of construction of large infrastructure projects is the way forward. A more imaginative approach would be to look beyond this, and to put welfare and sustainability at the core of an ambitious long-term plan, which could make Europe’s economic future seem much more bright.

To diagnose the malaise which political ecology suffers from in the current political system, beset by crises of both economic and cultural natures, we must first examine the position of the Greens in the political landscape, and their relation to both the Left and the Right.

The 21st century presents a fascinating paradox: never before in its history has humanity reached such an advanced and refined level of technological development, but never has it come so close to the ecological precipice and global collapse. If this contradiction is to be overcome, political ecology must focus on two priorities: the relocalisation of the economy and the democracy of self-limitation.

On March 13th the European Parliament (EP), now co-legislator on agricultural and budgetary issues, adopted its position on redesigning the CAP. A period of intense negotiations opens-up between the Council of the EU and the EP. But the complete shift of the CAP towards an ecological transformation of agriculture is now very unlikely to take place. This will not prevent the Greens and other progressive actors to continue to prepare this transition. If the CAP can’t change, can we?