Week 4: steady state economy: online lecture

Question 1

1: Who was the founder of the steady state economy? 2: And what did he think about sustainability ?3: And where did he get his ideas from?

Answer 1

1: Herman Daly
2: -> proponent of strong sustainability:
-> Different types of capital (natural, human, physical) contribute to creating goods.
-> Critical natural capital must remain constant—you cannot offset its loss by increasing human or physical capital (unlike weak sustainability).
3: Origins from John Stuart Mill: Introduced the idea of a “stationary condition”.

John Stuart Mill’s stationary condition refers to an economy where growth in wealth and population stops, but progress in happiness, culture, and quality of life continues.

Question 2

What is the idea behind the steady state economy ?

Answer 2

Aims for stable or mildly fluctuating levels of population and consumption that stay within the ecological limits of the planet, 3 guiding principles:
1. Throughput Management: Align resource and energy use with the planet’s ecological limits.
2. Population Stabilization: Maintain a stable population within sustainable resource capacities.
3. Respect for Planetary Boundaries: Operate within environmental constraints to ensure long-term sustainability.

Question 3

How does Daly define, a steady state economy?

Answer 3

Daly expanded this to define a steady state economy:
- Constant population.
- Stable stock of capital (built and natural)
- Low throughput of resources.
- Aligned with the ecosystem’s regenerative and assimilative capacities

A stable stock of captial (built and natural means that the environmental impacts of resource use stay within the ecosystem’s ability to assimilate waste and recover.

Question 4

What are the four goals of the steady state economy?

Answer 4

1:Sustainable scale (biophysical limits defines how big the economy can be)
2:Fair distribution (within the sustainable production level, resources should be distributed equitably)
3:Efficient Allocation Markets play a role but must be regulated by Civil society and the state to intervene to address market failures through rules, regulations, and policies)
4:High quality of life: Focus on wellbeing, health, and leisure

SSF DEAL HQ

Question 5

What are the SSE indicators?

Answer 5

1: Stability of Stocks = Keep population and infrastructure stable.
1: Stability of Flows = Balance energy and material use to avoid increasing waste and resource depletion.
Scale= Make sure all flows respect the planet’s ability to regenerate and recover.

Question 6

How can a SSE be achieved?

Answer 6

1: Change measures of progress:

2: Reduce inequalities: (minimum, basic and maximum income, affordable housing, land reform, progressive taxation)

3: Limit pollution and resource use:
o Implement:
> Carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems.
> Quotas for fisheries and timber.
> Support fossil-free alternatives (e.g., cycling infrastructure in Paris).

4: Rethink business models:
> Cooperatives.
> Social enterprises.
> Community interest companies.

5: Reform the monetary system:
> Encourage cooperative banking, like credit unions with no profit motives.

6: Strengthen local democracy:
>Promote civic engagement and empower communities to manage resources efficiently.
> Support grassroots movements to reduce power imbalances (e.g., Via Campesina).

Chareli strere

Question 7

What are the contreversies about SSE ?

Answer 7

• Neomalthusian: population control, ethical concerns
• Reliance on market mechanism
• Criticized for still using concepts like efficient markets and utility maximization.
  >Does not radically transform the economic system.

Question 8

What is the SSE relation to growth and degrowth ?

Answer 8

• Is agnostic to growth
• sees degrowth as a means to achieve a SSE for the global north.