Plea for a new green economy

Our societies are dominated by economic growth. Whether real or that his absence worried the idea of ​​growth is the alpha and omega of the economic universe. And even if the focus would be on its negative consequences, including environmental, consideration of the latter does not generally lead to the questioning of growth, but through research of buildings which, in largely stand out as oxymoron: "green growth", "green business", etc.
In this book to alert and precise style, Tim Jackson attacks with remarkable efficiency to the God of modern times what economic growth.
Certainly in the past despisers did not fail. The Baudrillard, Illich, Gorz, or, in a rather different note, Georgescu-Roegen sought, often with conviction, to highlight the adverse effects of economic growth and the limits on the latter. However, the contribution of Tim Jackson is not redundant vis-à-vis these sometimes ancient writings. It renews the contrary, the argument very significantly in contention. Relying in fact on recent statistical and analytical inputs on the extensive literature on sustainable development, the author makes a critique of growth and its type of avatars "green growth". It then attempts to establish a new green economy.
It is possible to identify three stages in the development of the author:
1) The prosperity is not growth. If the correlation is fairly obvious at first, beyond a certain level, the accumulation of material goods no longer implies an improvement of some prosperity indicators (life expectancy, infant mortality, education participation .. .) or an increase in perceived happiness.
2) The "decoupling" spoken of the many environmental economists hardly seems to be an achievable goal. Decoupling is the potential to reduce negative environmental impacts with continued economic growth. Based on a statistical material Therefore, Jackson shows that if the "relative decoupling" - ie the decrease of the environmental impact per unit produced - often proved, however the "absolute decoupling", ie lower of the total impact on growth situation is not found, without exception, in reality.
3) Therefore, since economic growth does not appear to be obtained without degradation of the environment, but that in any case, growth is not the consequence of prosperity, it is to promote prosperity, not passing through the growth of material goods, and which would aim both environmental preservation and development of individuals. This is the purpose of this new model called "ecological macroeconomics" offered Tim Jackson.
This new macroeconomics, which marks the third time the thesis, certainly remains problematic. This is of course a project to clarify and set aeuvre a model that could be compared with the prevailing economic patterns. The author, however, will readily recognize. If he seeks to impart a Keynesian framework, however, its precise characteristics are far from stabilized. On an almost humorous fashion, he wrote: "So what may well consist economically productive activity in this economy? The answer is not obvious. Certainly the 'energy services' rather than energy supply. For sale in mobility rather than cars. To recycle, reuse, to leasing maybe. To give yoga lessons, no doubt, to cut hair, gardening (...) "(p. 134): the components that have nothing very original, but the author search the joint without TUSCs needed economic growth. Instead, Jackson strongly emphasizes the sharing of work: the well-being of the population also means less work for some and more for those who do not. Not surprisingly, the book also emphasizes the vital role of "green investments".
A major shortcoming of the book seems to be the failure to take into account the interactions between economies internationally. It is not clear also whether the recommendations of Jackson specifically target the economy of the United Kingdom - that would suggest certain passages - or immediately concern the world economy. This omission is really damaging for how to think the emergence of a green economy in a world that would not think or how the introduction of a global green economy when certain "partners" do not seem tempted by philosophy underlying (think the United States have not signed the Kyoto Protocol or "emerging" hungry for economic expansion)?
The fact remains that "Prosperity without Growth", effectively addressing the taboo of economic growth, is an important book. Already, the original version has taken a significant place in the socio-economic debates of the Anglo-Saxon world. It is hoped that the French version will also get the attention it deserves.