History

Time to think inside the doughnut

I was pleased to read that Mike Chapman, Liberal Democrat, has come across Kate Rayworth’s book ‘Doughnut Economics’ (New Blackmore Vale, 10 June).

The quirky-sounding title should not detract from the seriousness and relevance of this idea. Ms Rayworth is an academic economist attached to both Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

She sees the damage caused by the conventional mantra of ‘economic growth at all costs’ espoused by most economists and politicians of all persuasions, and uses the image of the ‘ring’ doughnut to define desirable inner and outer limits to economic activity.

The outer circle represents the boundary beyond which unsustainable environmental damage is caused – the inner ring is the minimum acceptable standard of living for humans.

Economic activity needs to operate between those limits if we are to live sustainably.

Economic growth means exponential growth, which, as we learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, implies doubling times. In the case of the pandemic these were sometimes a matter of days or weeks – in the case of economic growth of say two to three per cent the doubling times would be much longer – 35-25 years – but the principle is the same.

It is blindingly obvious – as environmentalists were pointing out 50 years ago – that economic growth, insofar as it depends on resource consumption, is ultimately impossible in a finite world.

The crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has simply brought forward the problem of resource scarcity which would have in any case arisen within a decade or two.

Kate Rayworth is one of very few professional economists who realise that we have to do things radically differently. And the longer we continue on our present path – as the global warming crisis is showing us – the more difficult it is to change direction.

On that issue, a sensible use of North Sea oil revenues which flowed from the 1960s would have been to insulate people’s homes. This is not something that would naturally interest the utility companies whose aim is to maximise profits – contributing to economic growth – and people with properly insulated homes are obviously going to buy less gas, oil and electricity.

And another thing. Here is the nonsense of economic growth as the arbiter of wellbeing – it assumes every activity is valueless unless it is being paid for. Parent A likes looking after children; parent B likes doing the laundry. So Parent A agrees to look after Parent B’s children – along with his/her/their own – if Parent B will do Parent A’s laundry. Notice that no money has changed hands, so this beneficial activity has so far contributed nothing to the national economy.

But as soon as these parents pay each other for services rendered those transactions contribute to Gross National Product. And if each parent takes on more paid work year on year, we have economic growth – even though this activity could perfectly well continue voluntarily.

Economic growth has been espoused for decades by all parties as the way to raise everyone’s ‘standard of living’, itself defined only in narrow economic terms. Yet it hasn’t worked for everyone – while investment bankers cream off profits and bonuses while betting with other people’s money, thousands are queuing at food banks and needing somewhere affordable to live.

As John Bird, founder of the ‘Big Issue’ says, ‘this isn’t capitalism failing – this is capitalism working’. So let’s ditch economic growth as the be-all and end-all and have some imaginative leadership and thinking outside the box – but inside the doughnut!

Colin Marsh Gillingham

Dr Colin Clarke’s suggestions were such clear, sensible and practical solutions to present difficulties (New Blackmore Vale, June 10).

Such suggestions should be considered by those in power. I wonder how difficult it would be to incorporate them into existing laws?

The need for equality among a population was mentioned in ‘Small is Beautiful’ by E.F.Schumacher and the Scott Bader Commonwealth, that wages should be lowest to highest one to seven.

I wonder what ideas Dr Clarke would have to remedy the problems facing modern families, the building blocks of our society?

Cartoon by Lyndon Wall justsocaricatures.co.uk

Janet Swiss Shaftesbury

The 13th Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, previous owner of the Ferne Estate at Berwick St John, died in 1940.

At the time of his death he owned one, or possibly more, Sheltand pony carts which were known to have survived in one of the Ferne outbuildings into the 1960s.

Do any New Blackmore Vale readers know the subsequent fate of these small carts or whether any still survive in new ownership?

I would greatly welcome any information and can be contacted on 01308 868612.

Adrian Dixon Beaminster

When I was at school many years ago we were asked to write a poem about the Queen’s Coronation. Herewith my effort:

On June the 2nd of this year the gleaming Coronation Coach will Westminster Abbey approach.

Thousands of people will flock to cheer the most spectacular event for many a