Study Guide The Progress Illusion Reclaiming Our Future from the Fairytale of Economics Jon D. Erickson
Adapted from Jon Erickson’s class: NR 141
Students should be able to answer the following questions, but not necessarily from memory. Many of these questions do not have right and wrong answers. What is important is that in your answers the facts are correct, and the argumentation is sound. Do a little research where you aren’t sure. Type terms you don’t know into Google or, even better, Google Scholar. Defend your answers against possible criticisms, but do not hesitate to admit where you are uncertain or could see the other side. There’s no need to fake certainty in response to unknowable questions!
The need for an ecological economics • • •
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What is the economy? What is degrowth? What are ecological economists’ main criticisms of neoclassical economics? Think about economics’ assumptions regarding human nature and behavior, social relationships, well-being, the biophysical world, non-human beings, and so on. In what ways must the economy transform to address climate change? What sorts of policies might spark such a transformation?
Economics as contingent history • • • •
Should we think of the economy as an evolutionary system? Why or why not? What is the 99%? How do economists justify economic inequality? Why do Occupy protestors and other justice activists condemn it? Who gets more benefit from an additional dollar of income, Jeff Bezos or you? How about an extra million dollars?
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What vulnerabilities has the pandemic revealed in the US economic system? What about the global economic system? Why do student activists say that economics education is an “intellectual monoculture”? Should people be able to make their living just by owning land, factories, or stocks? Defend your answer.
Economics as a biophysical science • •
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What is entropy? What does it have to do with the economy? Over the last three decades, why have global carbon emissions only decreased in years when the global economy contracts (when gross world product decreases rather than grows)? Can GDP grow while the extraction of materials decreases? Defend your answer. What is the biophysical case for degrowth? In other words, why do ecological economists argue that the economy must contract for the sake of the planet? What is a “right-sized” economy? Is there an objective way to determine the right size for an economy? If so, how? If not, then how can the right size be determined?
Economics as a social construction • • • • • •
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What is a market? Why do markets exist? How have they become ubiquitous? Why do economists tend to oppose taxes and other policies that “interfere with markets”? Is their reasoning sound in your opinion? Why or why not? Why might some ecological economists say that all economics is political economics? Is government control of the economy the only alternative to markets? Are there other ways that societies determine what to produce and to whom to allocate it? Who has power in a market economy? What is the social case for degrowth? That is, why do some ecological economists believe that people, and society as a whole, could be better off if we abandon the pursuit of economic growth? What is a recession? How are recession and degrowth different? Why do elites and politicians ignore degrowth or criticize the idea?
Economics as social change • • • •
What is neoliberalism? What are its effects on people, communities, societies, and ecosystems? What are some reasons to put a dollar value on those parts of nature that are not bought and sold? Describe a scenario when doing so might help protect the environment. What are some reasons not to put a dollar value on nature? Describe a scenario when doing so might make environmental destruction more likely. In your opinion, how should governments and communities decide what to do? What role, if any, should cost-benefit analysis and similar economic tools play in making collective decisions?
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Why did economist Larry Summers write that “the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest-wage country is impeccable”? Do you agree? Why or why not?
A new economics • • • • • • • • •
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What sort of worldview underlies neoclassical or mainstream economics? How might economics be taught differently if it were based on a non-Western worldview, or a purely scientific one? Should there be a limit to the amount of money that an individual can earn in today’s society? Why or why not? Will free markets ultimately solve our environmental problems? Why or why not? What is the Jevons Paradox? What does it mean for creating a sustainable economy? What do ecological economists mean by “uneconomic growth”? Name 10 ways that GDP does not accurately measure a society’s well-being. These can be benefits that GDP misses or costs that GDP counts as benefits. What are alternatives to measuring GDP? What are their advantages and drawbacks? Will rich countries like the United States transition away from a growth-based economy intentionally, by design? Or unintentionally, by disaster? Or not at all – will growth be able to continue? Defend your answer by describing a plausible scenario of how the next 30 years could play out for the economy and the planet. Why has the United States become a global hotspot for the coronavirus and what does it have to do with ecological economics?