by From Theodore Lianos and current RWER issue The increasing intensity of the environmental problems that we face as a global community for the last fifty years has led to the development of several important ideas and proposals regarding the systemic changes that may be introduced in order to reverse the existing tendencies. Most prominent among them are the Steady-State Economy (Daly, 1972), the Green Growth Economy or Green Economy (OECD, 2015, 2011; UN, 2012), the ideas of Degrowth (Hickel and Kallis, 2020; Kallis, 2011; Kallis et al., 2012), of Ecosocialism (Kovel and Löwy, 1991; Löwy, 2018) and of Ecomodernism (Asafu-Adjaye et al., 2015). These ideas and proposals are sometimes referred to as theories. Strictly speaking, a theory is a statement that can be tested, and in that
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from Theodore Lianos and current RWER issue
The increasing intensity of the environmental problems that we face as a global community for the last fifty years has led to the development of several important ideas and proposals regarding the systemic changes that may be introduced in order to reverse the existing tendencies. Most prominent among them are the Steady-State Economy (Daly, 1972), the Green Growth Economy or Green Economy (OECD, 2015, 2011; UN, 2012), the ideas of Degrowth (Hickel and Kallis, 2020; Kallis, 2011; Kallis et al., 2012), of Ecosocialism (Kovel and Löwy, 1991; Löwy, 2018) and of Ecomodernism (Asafu-Adjaye et al., 2015). These ideas and proposals are sometimes referred to as theories. Strictly speaking, a theory is a statement that can be tested, and in that sense these ideas are not theories. However, we can continue to call them theories as long as we understand that in essence they are simply ideas.
The Green Growth Economy and Ecomodernism offer ideas and proposals which, independently of their effectiveness, can be applied in the presently existing socio-economic system in most countries, i.e. within the institutions of capitalism. For the ideas of degrowth and ecosocialism to be applied it would require important institutional changes, more so in the case of ecosocialism. For ecosocialists the prosperity of human society and the health of the environment will coincide with the socialist transformation of society. For degrowth the required changes are not clearly delineated although the advocates of degrowth speak of non-violent and democratic transition beyond capitalism.
The case of the steady-state economy is debatable. Can a steady-state economy be capitalist or does it imply major institutional changes?