Capitalism Has Led to “Deterioration in Human Welfare,” Study Suggests | Wealth of Geeks

The expansion of capitalism from the 16th century onward has been accompanied by an extreme decline in human welfare. A study carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, in collaboration with Macquarie University, Australia, has shown that the new economic system has seen a decline in wages all the way to below subsistence, along with a deterioration in human stature and a marked upturn in premature mortality.

https://wealthofgeeks.com/human-welfare-deterioration/

Some material on the upcoming Wellbeing Economy economy and issues

Around the world, we are witnessing important shifts in our understanding of progress and development. Societies and governments are moving beyond evaluating progress in terms of GDP or average income levels. Instead, some of them are increasingly focusing on evaluating progress in terms of our quality of life and collective wellbeing, including human and planetary health. This shift in thinking comes from a recognition that the economy should deliver for all people and for the planet, not the other way around.

Draft vision statement for the Wellbeing Economy Conference in the European Parliament in May 2023
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1628HZhEgFCAxc2q5EnT0Xs_3uKI8nc5D1eNPcV-fLKQ/edit

See also https://wellbeingeconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/WeAll-BRIEFINGS-Measuring-the-Wellbeing-economy-v6.pdf

OECD Better Life Initiative: Measuring Well-Being and Progress

About Beyond Growth – Beyond Growth 2023 Conference

The Beyond Growth 2023 Conference is a multi-stakeholder event aiming to discuss and co-create policies for sustainable prosperity in Europe, based on a systemic and transformative approach to economic, social and environmental sustainability and its encompassing governance framework.

This three days major event is a cross-party initiative of 20 Members of the European Parliament, supported by a wide-range of partner organisations, which follows the success of the Post-Growth 2018 conference. The conference offers an opportunity for discussion across institutional boundaries and with European citizens. It will involve stakeholders from EU and national policymaking, academia, social partners and civil society organisations. As it aims to discuss the future of European citizens, it will take place in their house, in the European Parliament (Brussels’ site) on 15-16-17 May 2023. Live streaming will also be available.

https://www.beyond-growth-2023.eu/about-beyond-growth/

Insect Apocalypse in the Anthropocene, Part I | Climate & Capitalism

The rapid decline of Earth’s most numerous animals is a major threat to the biosphere

by Ian Angus

“The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.”[1]

It is six decades since Rachel Carson wrote her brilliant book Silent Spring, often described as the foundational work of the modern environmental movement. Carson’s aim was to stop the killing of insects, and many people thought her cause had succeeded when widespread use of DDT ended.

The victory was short-lived.

https://climateandcapitalism.com/2023/02/16/insect-apocalypse-in-the-anthropocene-i/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=insect-apocalypse-in-the-anthropocene-i

Manifesto for an Ecosocial Energy Transition | Climate & Capitalism

An appeal to leaders, institutions, and our brothers and sisters, from the Ecosocial and Intercultural Pact of the South.

On February 10 2023, a collective of movements, civil society organizations, activist groups and their partners launched this Manifesto. A collective effort of dozens of groups and individuals in the Global South, the manifesto outlines the shortcomings of the status quo, “clean energy” approach of the richer countries of the Global North to the transition away from fossil fuels. It also offers new visions of ecosocial transition and transformation that are gender-just, regenerative, and popular, that are at once local and international

https://climateandcapitalism.com/2023/02/12/manifesto-for-an-ecosocial-energy-transition-from-the-peoples-of-the-south/

Disinformation Researchers Raise Alarms About A.I. Chatbots – The New York Times

Researchers used ChatGPT to produce clean, convincing text that repeated conspiracy theories and misleading narratives.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/technology/ai-chatbots-disinformation.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20230209&instance_id=84888&nl=todaysheadlines&regi_id=21179734&segment_id=124807&user_id=5de7ee6d33be0224cdc115e8d0d80b44

Havana Declaration outlines vision for building a just world economy

“The crisis of the existing world system can either entrench inequalities,” the declaration asserts, or it can “embolden” popular movements throughout the Global South to “reclaim” their role as protagonists “in the construction of a new world order based on justice, equity, and peace.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/havana-declaration-just-world-economy

“What is the common vision to guide the Global South out of this crisis?” asked the Progressive International. “What is the plan to win it?”

KENNY STANCIL Jan 30 2023

Delegates to the Havana Congress on the New International Economic Order—a gathering organized by the Progressive International and attended by more than 50 scholars and policymakers from 26 countries across all six inhabited continents—agreed over the weekend on a declaration that outlines a “common vision” for building an egalitarian and sustainable society out of the wreckage of five decades of neoliberal capitalism.

“The crisis of the existing world system can either entrench inequalities,” the declaration asserts, or it can “embolden” popular movements throughout the Global South to “reclaim” their role as protagonists “in the construction of a new world order based on justice, equity, and peace.”

Delegates resolved to focus their initial efforts on strengthening the development and dissemination of lifesaving technologies in low-income nations.

Read the full Havana Declaration on the New International Economic Order:

https://progressive.international/blueprint/d3b4f9e2-3fd7-4d9a-b067-d13b073b1c3f-presenting-the-havana-declaration-on-the-new-international-economic-order/en

Scotland aims to cut car use by creating ’20-minute neighbourhoods’ in net zero push

Scotland has set out a bold new vision for towns and cities that aims to cut private car use by ensuring all services are within a 20-minute walk or cycle from a person’s front door.

The planning reforms, which were approved this week, aim to create “20-minute neighbourhoods” as a way to “prioritise tackling the climate crisis and reaching net zero,” planning minister Tom Arthur said.

https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/scotland-aims-to-cut-car-use-by-creating-20-minute-neighbourhoods-in-net-zero-push/

Guardian: ‘No miracles needed’: Prof Mark Jacobson on how wind, sun and water can power the world

The influential academic says renewables alone can halt climate crisis, with technologies such as carbon capture expensive wastes of time
“Combustion is the problem – when you’re continuing to burn something, that’s not solving the problem,” says Prof Mark Jacobson.

The Stanford University academic has a compelling pitch: the world can rapidly get 100% of its energy from renewable sources with, as the title of his new book says, “no miracles needed”.

Wind, water and solar can provide plentiful and cheap power, he argues, ending the carbon emissions driving the climate crisis, slashing deadly air pollution and ensuring energy security. Carbon capture and storage, biofuels, new nuclear and other technologies are expensive wastes of time, he argues.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/23/no-miracles-needed-prof-mark-jacobson-on-how-wind-sun-and-water-can-power-the-world

Electric Shock: Report warns US car culture must change

The US’s transition to electric vehicles could require three times as much lithium as is currently produced for the entire global market, causing needless water shortages, Indigenous land grabs and ecosystem destruction, new research finds.

It warns that unless the US’s dependence on cars in towns and cities falls drastically, the transition to lithium battery-powered electric vehicles by 2050 will deepen global environmental and social inequalities linked to mining – and may even jeopardise the 1.5C global heating target.

https://theguardianweekly.pressreader.com/article/282179360226524