https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1662-6370.2011.02028.x
Post-growth society—Concepts for the future
[This article first published on September 5, 2011 is available on the Internet, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1662-6370.2011.02028.x.]
Post-Growth Society—Concepts for the Future
Irmi Seidl, Angelika Zahrnt (eds.) Marburg: Metropolis Verlag (2010), 247 pp., ISBN 978-3-89518-811-4
In the foreword, editors Irmi Seidl and Angelika Zahrnt point out that the book aims to stimulate discussion on how to overcome the constraints of growth and gain new perspectives. Their thesis is that politics and economics cling to economic growth because key areas of society, politics, and economics are based on the growth paradigm. Specifically, they formulate the purpose of their book as follows: “Concepts must be formulated and (practical) experiences must be pooled and further developed that can shape the areas, structures, and institutions of our society and economy that have been dependent on growth to date in such a way that they continue to fulfill their functions but are no longer existentially dependent on economic growth” (see page 17). For them, a post-growth society is characterized by the fact that 1) there are no policies to increase economic growth, 2) growth-dependent and growth-driving areas, institutions, and structures are restructured so that they are independent of economic growth, and 3) the growth of energy and resource consumption is stopped and consumption is reduced in line with sustainability goals (see p. 34).
In the first part of the book, the editors summarize the well-known ecological, economic, and social arguments for moving away from the paradigm of economic growth. Historian Joachim Radkau then addresses the question of whether growth or decline is a fundamental law of history. In this review of the history of dogma, the author refers, among others, to John Stuart Mill, who very early on formulated the insight that, based on pure mathematical logic, growth cannot be a permanent state, but only a phase of development. Radkau exposes many economic policy concepts as “growth constraints in economic thinking” and denounces the “deceptive optimism about ways out of the growth dilemma” (see pages 43/45).
The main part of the anthology contains a series of articles on areas of society in which growth constraints exist. Ideas for restructuring these areas are formulated in the following topics: old-age provision (Francois Höpflinger), healthcare (Hans-Peter Studer), education (Christine Ax), the labor market (Norbert Reuter), consumption (Inge Røpke), distributive justice (Matthias Möhring-Hesse), business (Gerhard Scherhorn), financial markets (Thomas Jorberg), tax policy (Lorenz Jarass), resource efficiency (Bernd Meyer), public finances (Irmi Seidl and Angelika Zahrnt), and democracy (Claudia von Braunmühl).
The third part of the book examines the state of the growth debate in France, the UK, Austria, and the US on the basis of interviews. These interviews show that the discourse on the growth issue is conducted differently in different countries. What they seem to have in common is that criticism of growth is still primarily voiced by small, sometimes isolated groups, and that the topic is largely taboo or suppressed in society. Since the global financial crisis and growing economic and political tensions, however, today’s growth philosophy has increasingly become a topic of public discussion, especially in countries where the so-called “degrowth movement” is strong (especially France and Spain).
In the fourth part of the book, the editors provide an outlook for the future. They draft a research map for a post-growth society. Here are a few of the many statements summarized: There is a need for research into the development of a tax system that does not provide incentives for economic growth and at the same time deprives society of some of the purchasing power and profits generated by high productivity gains. The goal must be to enable all citizens to consume appropriately, to ensure future-oriented investments, and to gradually reduce public debt. There is also a need for research on what an (international) financial system could look like and what regulations are necessary to prevent it from constantly stimulating growth. Another question in this context is how the banking system can be brought back more strongly into the service of the real economy. In the opinion of the editors, there is also a lack of macroeconomic models that are not geared towards growth but strive for sustainable development and distributive justice. Finally, researchers should also turn their attention to the political system and the relationship between the state and the economy.
The book “Postwachstumsgesellschaft” (Post-Growth Society) makes a substantial contribution to the social debate on the future of the growth society. As Norbert Reuter argues in his contribution “The labor market caught between growth, ecology, and distribution,” and as evidenced by growth rates, demographic trends, and arguments by J.M. Keynes, the societies of rich industrialized countries have long been on the path to a post-growth society. It is therefore time for rich industrialized countries to address the transition from exponential to linear growth, or even stagnation and selective contraction, particularly with regard to the implications for social systems.
It is therefore not surprising that the book has sparked lively debate. Interestingly, the problem analysis has hardly been questioned in the book reviews to date. Instead, the comments focus primarily on the feasibility of the proposals. For example, Philipp Krohn points out in the FAZ of March 4, 2011, that some of the recipes presented are so dirigiste that they are likely to be difficult for market liberals to digest. On the other hand, Werner Onken (cf. Zeitschrift für Sozialökonomie 166–167: 63–66) believes that more far-reaching measures are needed to overcome the growth society, such as the transfer of land and resources to common property.
These two opinions highlight the tension surrounding discussions about the post-growth society—including in the book: among other things, they concern the relationship between the state and the economy and the question of which processes should be regulated by the state or by the market. At the overarching level, some primarily identify market failure, while others see the problems more in political failure. In his book contribution “Fair and Efficient Tax Policy,” Lorenz Jarass calls for a tax policy framework that no longer favors international companies over national and regional companies. The market should then be allowed to operate within such a framework. Norbert Reuter and Inge Røpke argue for a much more interventionist approach, calling for the state to expand the service sector—on the one hand to generate employment, and on the other to shift private consumption to public consumption.
It is possible that the ideological underpinnings of this tension are already crumbling, as the necessities are too evident. For example, it is hardly controversial anymore that sustainable development in various areas requires better regulation by states and international agreements. It is also clear that a continuously increasing share of the state budget in value creation cannot be the solution to central social problems such as the financing of the social security system, as the editors also argue.
The “right” relationship between the state and the economy and between market and political processes is not as easy to define as some theories would have us believe. It needs to be rethought and renegotiated, especially for a post-growth society. If the crisis of the growth society and the still omnipresent growth paradigm are to be constructively overcome, this challenging discussion about the roles of the market and the state must be conducted, expanded to include considerations of collective action and common goods, and this debate must be accompanied by the development of appropriate theories.