In his 2017 book Prosperity Without Growth, Tim Jackson, an ecological economist at the University of Surrey, called on advanced countries to shift their economies towards local services, such as nursing and teaching, and the development of more rewarding and less resource intensive professions like handicrafts.
Basket weaving, that’s the secret to a 21 st century economy!
When AI has taken over all the knowledge jobs, and humans now free from that drudgery are able to exploit their no-longer unique talents in other occupations, and everywhere they look there will be a robot doing it cheaper, faster and better, basket-weaving is what it will come down to.
“ecological economist”
Gay. (hat tip Steve).
He forgot to also call for the creation of 60k a year basket weaving local jobs for local people. tsk. Calls himself a professor does he?
A return to pre-industrial lifestyles would certainly reduce our carbon footprint.
…..and basket weavers who sit and smile and twiddle their thumbs and toes
And they’re coming to take me away, ha-ha
“… more rewarding and less resource intensive professions like handicrafts”
These people are completely delusional about what life used to be like and how hard it was. We’ve had one, maybe two, generations where people have warm homes, easy transport and enough to eat and this idiot is desperate to throw it all away and go back to banging rocks together.
Jimmers – lol
Since Donald Trump launched his chaotic trade war earlier this year, it has become a truism to say he has plunged the world economy into crisis.
Candidly, the Guardian thought global capitalism was going great until the US president increased tariffs to 10%.
Yep. Southerner has it right.
“… more rewarding and less resource intensive professions like handicrafts”
They clearly aren’t or we’d still be doing them. Yes, there are people out like Richard Brendon making some lovely handmade wine glasses, but they cost £50 each. Ikea ones are £1.60. And they cost £50 because they’re more resource intensive. Human resource intensive. I’m not sure about total energy but I doubt they’re that much different.
But people already do this with their surplus. Wealth is measured by the rise in dog grooming, tattoo parlours and nail shops. Getting rid of travel agents, bank tellers and shopkeepers made us richer. These are hand craft, right? Probably not the sort that a university lecturer is thinking about, but there we are. At some point, someone will automate nails and we’ll find another thing to spend money on.
Nail shops aren’t going away. Or at least their equivalents aren’t going away. Same as hairdressers. The purpose of them isn’t to get nails/hair done, or at least that’s only a side effect. They’re an excuse for one woman to pay another to have to listen to her chatter; even if a robot could do the nails/hair better and cheaper, the robots would still be outnumbered by humans.
In NZ they’d pronounce basket-weaving as biscuit-weaving. Sounds more fun.
Dearieme – Yiss
I like making things in my little wood shop. I’ve been growing a few veggies. As a former mechanic and engineer I’m looking at having a go at fixing clocks and watches. I can do all this stuff because I have an income from a pension so I don’t have to make a living at it. I’d be pretty impoverished if I did.
Declarations that global capitalism is in crisis are nothing new, of course. Ever since Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto, which appeared in 1848, critics have been predicting the system’s demise.
That’s me convinced. One Khmer Rouge, please!
Btw, why do Guardianistas always pine for a socioeconomic order where they’ll likely be worked to death and join a pyramid of human skulls? It’s because these mental feebs think they’ll be the ones with the guns, giving orders.
DM/Steve
Once knew a kiwi girl who adored soft toys: she had a collection of what she called “tiddy beers”…
That article is a cornucopia of anti-capitalist dingbattery:
“People can flourish without endlessly accumulating more stuff,” Jackson wrote. “Another world is possible.”
Steve: “Btw, why do Guardianistas always pine for a socioeconomic order where they’ll likely be worked to death and join a pyramid of human skulls?”
Because they’re utterly convinced they will be the ones not on the pile of skulls.
It’s impossible to explain to them that with any major breakdown of social order they’ll be most likely the first batch making up that pile.
Theo – did she like Kia-Ora?
Grikath – I think the lesson from Democratic Kampuchea is, anybody who comes up with a great idea to replace capitalism needs to run the Gauntlet of Hammers.
Btw look like a trade deal between the UK and US has been agreed, NYT expects an announcement shortly.
If I wanted to be a country bumpkin peasant craftsman, then I would have become one. I would also like to point out that advanced economies would not stay advanced for long if half the work force decided to try and knit themselves a middle class living.
If the socialists had never got hold of UK hospitals in the 1940s and hadn’t reduced real Dr training places and fecked up the GP contract, then people would go local for their health care. Instead they go to Turkey or Thailand for operations. Does this happen in normal countries with insurance based and private provision.
Not quite Kiwi, but: “Kin ye see whit it is yit?”
Gamecock is an ecologist. Some college classes. Worked for the state.
‘Ecological economist’ is nonsense.
Started to read linked Guardian article. First paragraph was enough warning:
This is communist bullshit. Pay no attention.
I believe we also have the kiwis to thank for their variation on an Australian theme – “No wukin furries”
Norman – but did he didgery doo, or didgery didn’thedoo?
PS – the new UK/US trade deal. They’re saying it’s a great win for British Steel, which is what we’re calling the expensive government museum of industry in Scunthorpe.
But doesn’t this open up Britain to tariff free steel exports from US producers who aren’t hobbled by Net Zero? NTTAWWT. Anybody know if US steel is competitive selling to the UK construction and manufacturing sectors? Or is it China and India these days?
Also, beef is included. Good, American cornfed steaks will hopefully soon be in the shops. But no mention of the dread “chlorinated” chicken, more’s the pity. We should hope for a comprehensive FTA through Parliament and Congress, should be a slam dunk now.
PS – note that the US does not, as a precondition of trade, demand we allow even more of their people to move to our country and enjoy a preferential tax status over us savage natives.
(Note the historical irony tho, this is how European powers treated the Chinese in the 19th century, demanding local laws not apply to foreign merchants, who the Chinese also weren’t allowed to say bog off to. Two Tier just signed our first Unequal Treaty of the century, hopefully the last)
The India deal should be flushed pronto when Reform win.
There’ll still be positions for ‘ecological economists’ in this new society, though.
We have a tax and social security/NI deal with the US and many other countries. When I worked over there I didn’t pay in to social security because my visa wasn’t for long enough to get benefits, although I had-have- a social security number. I was supposed to pay my NI over here to keep my pension rights. Those Indians not paying NI is a pretty normal practice because they’ll get no benefit, in theory. This particular part is not an uneven deal and the objections to it are based on ignorance, possibly wilful.
Rhoda – visas should never be part of any trade discussion, and any foreign country demanding we accept their migrants as a condition of trade should be told where to go.
I’m sick of our country being treated as a shitty hotel for the world to shit in.