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“it also leaves out much of what is good: it doesn’t count non-monetised economic activities, even when they are essential to human life and well-being. If you grow your own food, clean your own house or care for your ageing parents, GDP says nothing. It only counts if you pay companies to do these things for you.”
― Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World
― Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World
“GDP growth is, ultimately, an indicator of the welfare of capitalism. That we have all come to see it as a proxy for the welfare of humans represents an extraordinary ideological coup”
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“Under capitalism, "private property" is not about the right to have your own home and belongings. It is about the right of elites to enclose and appropriate commons: forests, subsurface minerals, water, the atmosphere, public goods, even knowledge itself.”
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“There is nothing natural or innate about the productivist behaviours we associate with homo economicus. That creature is the product of five centuries of cultural re-programming.”
― Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World
― Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World
“But Kuznets was careful to emphasise that GDP is flawed. It tallies up monetised economic activity, but it doesn’t care whether that activity is useful or destructive. If you cut down a forest for timber, GDP goes up. If you extend the working day and push back the retirement age, GDP goes up. If pollution causes hospital visits to rise, GDP goes up.”
― Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World
― Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World
Birgit’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Birgit’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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