Wednesday, September 16, 2020

"...Promising the radical, delivering the familiar"

A sneak peek at an upcoming November journal article - all I have is the Abstract, which is telling (link below).  It's looking more & more as though the CIRCULAR ECONOMY (CE) concept is not what it's cracked up to be.  At least, at the present time it's not.

So, why is that important?  1)  CE currently is highly popular in academic and governmental policy making circles.  2)  It's being viewed as an ecological solution to the ongoing Eco-Crisis.  3)  It appears to adhere to the neoclassical/neoliberal false belief that increased efficiency and substitutes can ameliorate the negative environmental "externalities" of unlimited economic growth.  4)  It also appears to ignore the impact of entropy regarding economic throughput and recycling.  5)  And finally, it appears to not take seriously enough the existence of biophysical limitations on Spaceship Earth.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800920306091

The CE paradigm is in need of a transformative shift which includes abandoning the idea of unlimited growth and overconsumption on a finite planet.  That path has proven to be disastrous.  It's precisely why the world now is seeking an alternative.  Wrapping a Green ribbon around a neoliberal package is not an adequate solution.  The CE model is not Bioeconomics, Ecological Economics, Donut Economics, or Steady State Economics.  It seems to be merely a greener version of neoliberal economics.

In any case, much more dialectical discourse regarding the details of CE needs to occur.  Our lives, our future depend on that process.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

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