The End of Economic Growth: Social Regression or New Beginning?

[Sherilee Diebold-Cooze]

The Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI) facilitates rigorous transdisciplinary and collaborative research promoting innovation and resilience within-and beneficial transformation of-the complex adaptive systems at the core of human well being in the 21st century.

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The End of Economic Growth: Social Regression or New Beginning?



On Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 from 2-5pm in MC 2065, Steve Mock and Stephen Purdey will lead an exciting seminar based on the idea of 'the end of economic growth'. All are welcome! Please RSVP to Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2784517567



Steve Mock (Balsillie School of International Affairs) will give a lecture entitled "National Identity and the Liberal State in a Post-Growth Economy"

Abstract:

The powering-down of the world economy ultimately mean re-localization to relatively autonomous, self-sufficient communities. Steven Mock will argue, however, that it is a mistake to assume that such re-localized communities will also be politically and socially progressive. Many social goods such as human equality, freedom of conscience, and social mobility are sustained in part by their functionality in the service of growth-oriented economic structures, and in turn those structures are the product of a unique social grouping called the nation.
The removal of growth as the conceptual centre of the socio-economic system will lead to the erosion of our identification with these communities of common culture, and a decline in the need to provide the mass literacy and public education necessary to maintain them. And, without growth, competition between individuals for roles higher up the social ladder will be replaced by ascribed roles and rigid, inherently inequitable social formations. Degrowth could lead to the end of goods such as social mobility, individualism, meritocracy, egalitarian gender relations, democracy, and cosmopolitanism.

Stephen Purdey's (Affiliate Researcher with WICI) lecture is called "The Way Ahead: Global Governance, Complex Adaptive Systems and Societal Transformation".

Abstract:

The ever-bigger world economy is now bumping up against, and in some cases breaching constraints imposed by the finitude of the planetary bio-geosphere. Yet, more and faster growth is demanded as a political priority. How can this conundrum be explained?

Complex adaptive systems often display emergent properties, that is, extra, unanticipated properties which emanate from the synergistic interactions of the system's component parts. The human body is a complex adaptive system which exhibits the emergent property of consciousness. Can a similar property be ascribed to the human population as a whole? Stephen Purdey will present the case that human society on Earth is also a complex adaptive system, suggesting that our population may be endowed with an evolving 'collective consciousness.' Still at an early stage of development, this shared consciousness may be vulnerable to momentary impulses, unreflective behaviour, and simplistic ideas. One such idea-that growth is good and more is better-has been institutionalized as a non-negotiable policy priority, forming the core principle of modern global governance. Given that this idea is untenable in the long run, it must be superseded in our emergent ideational domain. A new form of global governance, guided by new ideas and principles, can foster a more mature shared worldview not premised on the lethal illogic of perpetual economic growth.

Please visit http://wici.ca/2012/01/the-end-of-economic-growth-social-regression-or-new-beginning/ to obtain an essay on this exciting topic!


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Upcoming Events
March 20th
Shreyas Sundaram
Title: Reaching Agreement in Complex Networks: Avoiding the Influence of Extreme Agents
Location: EV3-3412 from 2-4pm

March 29th
Matto Mildenburger
Title: Exploring the Possibility Space of Ideological Change
Location: MC 2065 from 2-4pm



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--
Maria Legault, B.E.S.; Candidate for M.E.S.
Administrative Assistant, Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI)
Email: maria.legault at wici.ca<mailto:maria.legault at wici.ca>
Phone: 519-888-4567 ext. 31813
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The Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI) facilitates rigorous transdisciplinary and collaborative research promoting innovation and resilience within-and beneficial transformation of-the complex adaptive systems at the core of human well being in the 21st century.



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