Is Sustainable Abundance An Achievable Goal?
How do you see our future as a whole? Will be attain sustainable, life-enhancing abundance?
By: Rupert Read & Sandy Irvine (theecologist.org) – Greens are united in opposing neoliberal ‘austerity’, write Rupert Read & Sandy Irvine. But there’s another kind of austerity to which we are committed – that of living within ecological limits. But base the transition on social, economic and environmental justice, and there will be nothing austere about it. The future we’re working for is one of sustainable, life-enhancing abundance.
The ‘austerity’ issue is very much in the news. In last weekend’s Observer, for example, it popped up in several articles.
On the front page a number of economists are quoted as supporting Jeremy Corbyn’s “anti-austerity politics”.
Inside there is an opinion piece by economics correspondent William Keegan who credits Corbyn for foregrounding the issue and challenging orthodox arguments for government spending cutbacks.
On another page, a “young Labour supporter” explains why she supports Corbyn because of his stance on “Tory austerity”.
Elsewhere in the paper, a feature reports on the growing unpopularity of the President of Brazil, the Workers’ Party’s Dilma Rouseff, partly due to her acceptance of ‘austerity’ policies.
There was also a big item about the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis who broke with Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, over the EU austerity package. In the same manner as Corbyn’s attacks on Tory policies, the new breakaway party from Syriza condemns the measures as not just unnecessary but also totally counter-productive.
Perhaps genuine issues are getting clouded in all the Tory- and EU-bashing … Not that such bashing is undeserved! On the contrary! But we have to carefully home in…
Read the complete article here.