Parkdale-High Park NDP Discussion: Steady State Economics

This comes from the Parkdale-High Park mailing list:

Political Discussion: Steady State Economics -- Necessary Policy or Utopian Fantasy?

The current economic crisis has generated much discussion on how to avoid a major downturn. Implicit in most of the commentary is the assumption that economic well-being requires us to keep the economy growing much like it has in the past. Yet global warming and other environmental challenges have alerted us to the need to dampen our impact on the planet's ecosystem.

Ideas about steady state economics have attracted increasing attention. Herman Daly, who calls himself an ecological economist, has been writing about steady state economics for three decades. The magazine Adbusters named Daly their Person of the Year for 2008 and featured accessible articles by and about him in the latest issue: Big Ideas for 2009 (#81). These articles will be the focus of our next political discussion.

One of the members of the Parkdale-High Park NDP Education Committee will provide a brief introduction to the topic and an open discussion will follow.

Here are the details of the meeting:

Topic: Steady State Economics -- Necessary Policy or Utopian Fantasy?
Date: Thursday, January 29, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: 2545 Bloor West, West of Jane Station, Condominium Meeting Room, First Floor.

Light refreshments will be served.

The websites below contain the articles that will be discussed.

Paper copies of the articles are available for pickup, free of charge, at Another Story Bookshop, 315 Roncesvalles Ave.

A Steady-State Economy

Herman Daly: Adbusters' Person of the Year

True Cost Economics Manifesto

Another version of Daly's article appearing in Adbusters can be found at The Oil Drum

For purposes of ensuring adequate refreshments, please let me know if you plan to attend.

Terry Burrell
Secretary, Parkdale-High Park NDP Riding Association
terryburrell@rogers.com, 416-533-6660