Humanity appears caught in a trap with no way out. ‘Business as usual’ is no longer
an option. However, halting and reversing our consumption of more and more
‘stuff’ appears likely to trigger a massive depression with serious unemployment and
poverty. This is certainly true if all we do is ‘apply the brakes’ without fundamentally
redesigning the whole economic system. We are facing a series of interlinked systemic
problems – consuming beyond our planetary limits; untenable inequality; growing
economic instability and a breakdown in the relationship between ‘more’ and ‘better’.
The only way to overcome these systemic problems is through a set of solutions which
themselves address the whole.
As NEF says, applying the brakes isn't enough. I say applying our brains, could be enough.
