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The world-wide Corona-Crisis shows the limits of market-oriented economies. A key task for us all, Simon Mair writes, is demanding that emerging social forms come from an ethic that values care, life, and democracy. The central political task in this time of crisis is living and (virtually) organising around those values.
The challenges facing the world and the UK today are unprecedented. A global health emergency, a global climate crisis; and a catastrophic loss of biodiversity, are undermining the basis for future prosperity in the UK and across the world. This article, written for The New York Times in 2012, speaks to the theme of restoring the value of decent work to its rightful place at the heart of society.
We often hear that it’s the journey and not the destination that really matters. Nowhere is this truer than when thinking about climate change. In this blog, CUSP co-investigator Peter Victor is introducing his illustrative carbon budget simulator, that can be used to explore different approaches to achieving an emissions target and remaining within a target budget. (This blog was updated on 30 March 2020 to include an addendum on the Corona crisis.)
In this blog, Ian Vickers is introducing a new paper that examines the implementation of governance arrangements to extend ownership and control to employees and community stakeholders in social enterprises. The research finds that the realisation of democratic ideals involves a gradual and often challenging process.
In this short blog CUSP researchers Sue Venn, Kate Burningham and Anastasia Loukianov reflect on the challenges of conducting place based research on what people need to live well within planetary limits, whilst sharing the direct consequences of extreme weather conditions.
This article explores inequality in the UK. It examines the evidence for rising inequality over the last fifty years, estimates the economic welfare lost to society from an unequal distribution of incomes and addresses the critical question of managing inequality in the context of declining growth rates.
Falling productivity growth, climate change and changes in energy supply. We face serious challenges now and in the coming years. A recent paper by CUSP researchers Shimaa Elkomy, Simon Mair and Tim Jackson reviews connections between these three challenges and look for paths forwards. Here, Simon Mair is summarising the findings.
“We are still somehow running on autopilot with the wrong kind of fuel, drunk on ideas of progress, our own significance, and the notion things will somehow be ok.” CUSP fellow Jonathan Rowson on emergency, crisis, meta-crisis, metacrisis, meta crisis—and pickles.
Becoming a circular city is a declared future-vision for London. The London Waste and Recycling Board have launched a programme to facilitate the transition. As part of her PhD research about the role of urban policies in enabling circular transitions, CUSP visiting researcher Zeynep Özçam took a closer look.
Wellbeing and productivity are typically assumed to be positively related, but our review suggests that this may not always be the case. It is crucial that we start to take a more critical view of this relationship, Amy Isham writes, introducing her latest working paper with Simon Mair and Tim Jackson.
Recent CUSP studies show that changing one’s lifestyle for environmental reasons can lead into political action. In this blog, Joost de Moor, Brian Doherty and Phil Catney are summing up some of their key findings.
Sir Roger Scruton was an extraordinary philosopher, writer and musician—a polymath. His philosophy of conservatism is perhaps the most comprehensive and impressive attempt in our time to explain and justify that tradition of political thought and practice, Ian Christie writes in his appreciation—we should continue to read, learn from, disagree and argue with him.
Amidst growing interest in deliberative citizens’ assemblies on climate change, the link between democracy and sustainability has become a hot topic. To protect both at a time of high political tension, we must refrain from treating democracy as a mere instrument employed from the top down, and instead advance genuine democratic renewal.
The horror of the last weeks and months are a compressed version of the last 30 years in bushfire and climate politics, CUSP researcher Marc Hudson writes, it needs radical changing. The public must stay informed and demand better from our elected representatives.
Our way of life must change if we want to avoid climate breakdown—but how much can we do as individuals? Ahead of the upcoming ICTA-UAB Conference on Low-Carbon Lifestyle Changes, Joël Foramitti, Lorraine Whitmarsh and Angela Druckman are outlining a roadmap.
Our food, finance, and logistics systems are worryingly vulnerable to climate shocks, Aled Jones and Will Steffen write. These are not distant existential issues raised by uncertain and abstract models of future climatic risk. They are urgent questions that humanity has been ducking for decades, but now demand urgent answers.
Meaningful work does not have to be at the price of decent work conditions, research by our partners at Middlesex University finds. In this blog, Deputy Director Fergus Lyon is introducing a new project that will be further investigating the various economic tensions within community businesses; and is calling for case study partners.
It is clear that the larger the economy becomes, the more difficult it is to decouple that growth from its material impacts… This isn’t to suggest that decoupling itself is either unnecessary or impossible. On the contrary, decoupling well-being from material throughput is vital if societies are to deliver a more sustainable prosperity—for people and for the planet. (This article is posted on the Science website).
For Joseph Schumpeter, ‘creative destruction’ was an inherent feature of Capitalist development; what if we apply its logic to transformative political change instead? We have plenty of solutions at hand, Daniel Hausknost argues; it’s time for decisions.
To explore pathways to accelerate change, a group of sustainable businesses were brought together recently, exploring how Micro and Small enterprises can, and do already, disrupt the fashion sector. CUSP researcher Patrick Elf attended the project workshop, and here shares some of his reflections.
What will it take for us to save ourselves?—CUSP has supported the development of a theatre adaptation of The World We Made; and with support from local citizens groups and the ESRC is bringing it to venues across the UK. Jen Horn has attended one of the performances. These are some of her reflections.
To address the climate and ecological crises, we need a vision of the future. But some of the most popular ones out there will only propel the planet more quickly towards destruction, Joanna Boehnert and Simon Mair write.
Robert Shiller’s new book probes how social behaviour trumps statistics in determining the fate of economies—Tim Jackson weighs it up. (This article is posted on the Nature website).
Introducing mandatory requirements for businesses and investors to disclose climate risks and what they are doing about them is an essential part of achieving net zero emissions argues CUSP co-investigator Nick Molho.
Across the world, societies are obsessed with increasing economic growth. Like an addiction we can’t quit, we know that ‘GDP-fetishism’ is a myopic, damaging way to view human flourishing. Yet despite years of effort to go ‘Beyond GDP’, it is as dominant as ever. Why? And what can be done about it?
Environmental engagement is on television screens, in the streets and at your local book group; environmental communicators are everywhere and everyone.—A recent edition of the Environmental Scientist focuses on the new radicalism in environmental engagement. This blog was written for the Editorial.
Can we save the planet and still retain capitalism? Is transition to socialism the only way to end our addiction to unsustainable growth? Breakthroughs in economic theory may be suggesting a new answer to these questions, suggests CUSP researcher Richard Douglas: not capitalism or socialism—but both.
Much of the effort in the financial world in dealing with uncertainty is exerted in repackaging or ‘taming’ it as its more manageable relation, as risk. Yet, the power and politics that flow through technical models can have very adverse feedbacks in communities.
Gambling on a future of continued economic growth is a bad bet with long odds and extremely high stakes, CUSP researchers Ian Christie, Ben Gallant and Simon Mair write in this blog, outlining the basics of the ‘post-growth’ perspective.
Transforming our societies to stop climate change offers us the chance to make our lives better, Simon Mair writes. Let’s roll back specialisation and work on problems we think are important, that contribute to our communities rather than generating sales.
Right before the calendar moves into autumn, we hosted our third CUSP summer school, bringing together young researchers for three days to share ideas across the academic disciplines and experiences. In this short blog, Jo Kitchen shares a few reflections.
At current rates of reduction, the UK fair carbon budget will be spent in just four years’ time.”Every year that progress is delayed, the challenge only gets bigger”, he argues, we don’t only need a credible strategy on zero carbon targets, but also emission pathways, with a defined level of negative emission technologies.
If climate is becoming the latest battleground in the ‘culture wars’, should we just refuse to fight? Instead of facing off against massed armies in ranged battle driven by deep pockets, Lucy Stone argues, perhaps we should throw down our arms and look to see not just the white of each other’s eyes, but the person behind them.—A plea fo deliberative democracy.
As the consumerist understanding of what living well means is increasingly disputed for its unsustainability, the need emerges to look for alternative takes on the good life. In this blog, CUSP researcher Anastasia Loukianov presents an overview of her recent article with Kate Burningham and Tim Jackson, considering some of the understandings of the good life that can be found on Instagram.
The gathering of world leaders in France this week offers an opportunity to address the existential issues of our time, Amanda Janoo writes in her guest blog—a more just and sustainable economy is not only possible, but a few strategic decisions away. (This blog first appeared on the Open Democracy website.)
Despite vast amounts of money being invested in Liverpool, the UK’s 2015 indices of multiple deprivation found the city to be the fourth most deprived local authority district in the country. Culture-led regeneration has been a central tenet of Liverpool’s economic ‘revival’ since the 1980s. Yet, the implementation of ‘creative cities’ policy has been contested in numerous ways—it’s not a one-size-fits-all strategy, Anthony Killlick’s case study shows. A summary.