Prosperity Without Growth #544
December 14, 2019
The societies we live in are organised around growth, objects, and driving forward a constantly expanding economy as benchmarks of success and prosperity. But this growing consumption at all costs is at odds with our understanding of what our planet can support. How do we lower the environmental impact of economic activity? How do we redefine success and prosperity separate from GDP, which politicians and governments have focused on for decades? We speak with ecological economist Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey, Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Propserity, and author of "Prosperity Without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow".
List of news organisations, podcasts, and charitable organisations highlighted at the end of this episode:
- Scientific American
- Hakai Magazine
- UnDark
- National Geographic
- Discovery Magazine
- Science News
- WIRED
- Popular Science
- Ars Technica
- Motherboard
- NPR
- Gastropod
- Flash Forward
- Sawbones
- NPR's Short Wave
- The Story Collider
- Brains On!
- Tumble
- Union of Concerned Scientists
- Evidence for Democracy
- Sense About Science
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Association for Women in Science
- Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
- Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation
- Engineers Without Borders
- Doctors Without Borders
Guests:
- Tim Jackson
Featured Book
Prosperity Without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow
Guest Bios
Tim Jackson
Tim Jackson is Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), and Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey in the UK. CUSP builds on Tim's vision over three decades to explore the moral, economic and social dimensions of prosperity on a finite planet. He's served as an advisor on sustainability to numerous commercial, government and intergovernmental organisations. Between 2004 and 2011, Tim was Economics Commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission, where his work culminated in the publication of his controversial book "Prosperity without Growth". In 2016, he was awarded the Hillary Laureate for exceptional international leadership. In addition to his academic work, Tim is an award-winning dramatist with numerous radio-writing credits for the BBC.
