The publication of Prosperity Without Growth was a landmark in the sustainability debate. For the first time the idea of continuous growth, the stated aim of almost all governments and businesses, was questioned and refuted. The book provoked controversy and debate and, in the five years since it was published, has led to a new wave of research building on the book’s findings and conclusions.
In this new edition, Professor Tim Jackson brings his explosive book up to date, incorporating the latest data, policies and the fall-out from the economic crisis. On the most controversial issues, Jackson addresses his critics and expands on the steps required to progress to a new economy. A vital new chapter has been added on financing the green economy which explores changes which are needed to the financial sector in the wake of the economic crisis.
At the core of the book, the key question remains: is more economic growth the solution to the world’s problems? Will it deliver prosperity and well-being for a global population projected to reach nine billion? Tim Jackson makes the compelling case that it won’t.
In the advanced economies there continues to be mounting evidence that ever-increasing consumption adds little to human happiness and may even impede it. And it is abundantly clear that the ecosystems that sustain our economies are collapsing under the impacts of rising consumption.
To protect the world’s natural resources and for the future well-being of the human race, we will have to devise a path to prosperity that does not rely on continued growth. In the second edition ofProsperity Without Growth, Tim Jackson provides a clear credible vision of how human society can flourish within the ecological limits of a finite planet.
