74: Do economies always have to grow? The question facing capitalism

In this podcast, hosts Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to ecological economist, Tim Jackson, about his new book, Post-Growth; Life After Capitalism. Every society in the world shares a fundamental cultural assumption about how our economies work: that growth is good. But what if this is running up against both its material and ecological limits? As capitalism in Western states struggles with the problem of low or stagnant growth do we need to rethink how we understand the economy and prioritise redistribution and ecological and social justice, over the drive to squeeze more and more juice out of the same orange? Politicians often don't like talking about post-growth but many argue that its an idea whose time has come. 

For more information on the ideas discussed on this podcast, check out these links: 

Tim's book Post-Growth

Hannah Arendt's classic work, The Human Condition 

The novel, Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson and a paper by Luke on it here