24/11/2024
Embracing Degrowth for A Better World: Review Of “Less Is More”
By Adiya Assangazy November 2024
Jason Hieckel in his book “Less is More” published in 2020 has said “This is called degrowth – a planned reduction of excess energy and resource use to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a safe, just and equitable way”. Contrary to popular assumption, degrowth is frequently misinterpreted as being intrinsically opposed to growth. Whereas in reality, degrowth covers a sophisticated strategy that attempts to prioritise sustainability, well-being, and equal distribution over the persistent pursuit of limitless economic expansion. Jason Hieckel has done a substantial job at not only raising awareness about the ecological issues, but also at revealing the myths that still exist among people.
So why is it so thought-provoking? Well, Hieckel has questioned the system to which we are all so accustomed by introducing the historical roots of it to the reader. He demonstrates how throughout the years human nature has changed from animistic – “being united to and identifying ourselves as a part of nature” to dualistic – “having a clear divide between human and nature, subject and object”. This kind of mindset is hazardous, because it makes people more distant from nature, which contributes to development of the idea of further expansion and profit by exploitation of natural resources. And as a factor that pushes further the imperative growth narrative Hieckel discusses GDP: “When Simon Kuznets introduced GDP growth metrics to the US Congress back in the 1930s, he was careful to warn that it should never be used as a normal measure of economic progress. Moreover, the Nobel Laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen published a report, where they argued that overreliance on GDP blinds us to what’s happening to social and ecological health.” He further breaks it down by explaining the system in a simplified way to detect a pattern. “In capitalist economies, people’s livelihoods are tied to GDP’s growth. And here’s where the problem begins. Under capitalism, companies are constantly finding ways to increase labour productivity in order to push down the costs of production. As labour productivity improves, firms need fewer workers; People get laid off and unemployment rises; Poverty and homelessness go up. Governments have to respond by scrambling to generate more growth just to create new jobs. But the crisis never goes away; It just keeps recurring, year after year. ‘the productivity trap’ is what this phenomenon is known as”
However, he does not antagonise growth as some might think, he reveals the true reasons why capitalism might be detrimental to our environment. “What makes capitalism distinctive isn’t that it has markets, but that it is organised around perpetual growth. Indeed, it is the first intrinsically expansionist economic system in history. It’s not growth that’s the problem, it’s growthism” Why is growthism hazardous? Because it revolves around artificial scarcity – alleged lack of resources for all, so we continue to expand and grow even when it is not as necessary as it was before at the expense of nature.
Altering our current system poses a lot of challenges, so perhaps we could implement some measures without a major restructure? One of the main hopes of humanity in this regard is technology. Jason Hieckel has dedicated a whole chapter on this topic named “Will Technology Save Us?”, where he discusses the main inventions that are believed to resolve our issues, for instance bio-energy with carbon capture and storage, known as BECC. He reveals how it actually works: “First you establish massive tree plantation around the world, they suck CO2 out of the atmosphere as they grow, then you harvest the trees, churn them into pellets, burn them in power plants to generate energy, capture the carbon emissions at the chimneys and store it all underground where it can never escape. Voila: a global energy system that produces ‘negative emissions’ ”, this reveals the myth of technology as a “magical” tool that solves all our problems. To further illustrate his point, he mentioned the publications of fifteen scientists in Nature Climate Change, where they argued that the widespread use of BECCS in the climate models “might become a dangerous distraction from the imperative of reducing emissions”. We are in need of technology, however we should not rely on them to ultimately solve all environmental issues. Technology might mitigate the negative impacts, however until we eliminate the root of the problem – imperative for growth, everything remains the same.
So if technology alone is powerless to solve all the problems, maybe efficient use of resources will mitigate the consequences of the ecological crisis? Well, the author talks about it by introducing a term of Jevons Paradox, describing the historical case of invention of steam engine: “James Watt had just introduced his steam engine, which was significantly more efficient than previous versions: it used less coal per unit of output. Everyone assumed that this would reduce total coal consumption. But oddly enough, exactly the opposite happened: coal consumption in England soared. The reason, Jevons discovered, was that the efficiency improvement saved money, and capitalists reinvested the savings to expand production”. This demonstrates that efficiency doesn’t always result in diminished consumption, moreover he warned: “Scientists are beginning to realize that there are physical limits to how efficiently we can use resources, because they still require material inputs”. This dispels the misconception about the effectiveness.
Now, when we know that all the measures mentioned above are way more nuanced than they might look like, what are the actual effective solutions? Firstly, he has explained it through the discovery of a scientist Thomas McKeown: “when he noticed that there was a striking rise in life expectancy after the 1870s – an improvement unlike anything else in the historical record. Like other scholars at the time, he was curious to know what had caused this apparently miraculous trend. So he landed on what seemed a sensible explanation: it must have been due to rising average incomes. However, historians today point out that it began with a startlingly simple intervention, something McKewon had overlooked: sanitation”. Jason Hieckel then cited Simon Szreter, professor of history and public policy at the University of Cambridge - “The historical record is clear that economic growth itself has no direct, necessary positive implications for population health. The most that can be said is that it creates the longer-term potential for population health improvements”. This is proof that to live in prosperity, growth is not the priority, it is universal public goods. “Countries whose governments have invested in universal public healthcare and education have seen some of the world's fastest improvements in life expectancy and other indicators of human welfare”.
Secondly, equality facilitates better living standards: “consumer research shows that because Denmark is more equal than most other high-income countries, people buy fewer clothes and keep them for longer. And firms spend less money on advertising, because people just aren’t as interested in unnecessary luxury purchases. This is one of the reasons why more egalitarian societies turn out to have lower levels of per capita emissions”. Using this example the author explains that abundance is not a factor in human welfare and happiness - “When it comes to human welfare, it’s not income that matters. It’s what that income can buy, in terms of access to the things we need to live well”. Thirdly, Jason Hieckel suggested a shift from the sole GDP utilisation, since it pushes the growth narrative and use other indexes such as Better Life Index, the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare and the Genuine Progress Indicator, which set out to correct GDP for social and economic costs. “In other words, organise the economy around the needs of humans and ecology, rather than the other way around”.
In conclusion, while initially sceptical as a reader, I found myself increasingly intrigued by Jason Hieckel’s arguments. His exploration of the current system raises important questions about its long-term viability. Through profound research and compelling arguments, Hieckel challenges conventional notions of growth and consumptions, urging readers to reconsider the prevailing narrative of endless expansion and profit. The book serves as a wake-up call, highlighting the urgency of addressing pressing issues such as inequality, environmental degradation and social injustice. It invites readers to reevaluate their own values and actions, encouraging a collective effort to create a more just, balanced and environmentally conscious world.
