October 4 – 9, 2010
Tim Jackson, Ed Mayo, Julie Richardson
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There is mounting evidence that ever-increasing consumption in the industrialised world adds little to human happiness and may even impede it. More urgently, it is now clear that the ecosystems that sustain our economies are collapsing under the impacts of rising consumption. Unless we can radically lower the environmental impact of our economic activity – and there is no evidence to suggest that we can – we will have to devise a path to prosperity that does not rely on continued growth.
If you believe a radical re-think of economic growth and consumption is needed, then you need to look at what alternative narratives might support new social structures and enterprises for this generation and the next.
Tim Jackson’s new book, Prosperity Without Growth, tackles these issues head-on and has been hugely influential in encouraging a radical re-think of economic growth. Tim will start the course by presenting his vision of how human society can flourish within the ecological limits of a finite planet. This involves redefining what we mean by prosperity and a very different understanding of what our economic system should look like.
As a case study of today’s consumerism and its responses, Ed Mayo will explore the £99 billion field of marketing to children – drawing on research for his recent book, Consumer Kids, co-authored with Agnes Nairn. For young people, being a consumer offers the promise of happiness, identity and freedom but the reality can be the opposite – a harsh social environment, based on values of materialism and competitive consumption. We are growing a new generation of voracious consumption at exactly the time when in environmental terms, we need the opposite. Drawing on creative responses from young people themselves, Ed will discuss co-operation as an alternative basis for social interaction. He sets out the current state of co-operative, people-centred enterprises, and builds on the themes developed by Tim Jackson in looking at co-operative models for the heartland of the economy, around energy, food and finance.
Julie Richardson will look at how people get locked into unsustainable consumption due to product design (eg. high energy consumption, built in obsolescence) and discuss the work of the Transition Network around shifting social norms and developing new cultural narratives that promote less materialistic lifestyles.
During the course a trialogue will held in partnership with Transition Town Totnes Continued Financial Expansion, Financial Expansion, Financial Collapse, or Prosperity Without Growth? Tim Jackson and Ed Mayo will be joined by Naresh Giangrande of Transition Town Totnes with participation from Totnes residents and Schumacher College community.
The course is intended for: those working in community development, local or national government, education, social enterprise and ethical business, economics students/professionals, and individuals who are concerned about the prevalence of consumerism and would like to understand its economic basis and what constructive alternatives are possible.
Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the Research group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE). Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the aim of RESOLVE is to explore the links between lifestyles, societal values and the environment. In particular, RESOLVE aims to provide evidence-based advice to policy-makers in the UK and elsewhere who are seeking to understand and to influence people’s energy-related behaviours and practices. Since 2004 Tim has been Economics Commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission and is the author of their controversial and groundbreaking report, now updated and expanded in the book Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet (Earthscan 2009). In addition to his academic work he is an award-winning playwright with numerous radio-writing credits for the BBC.
Ed Mayo is Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, the membership network for co-operative businesses, and has spent his career working to bring together economic life and social justice. From 2003-2009, he was Chief Executive of the National Consumer Council, and before that he rose to prominence as director of the New Economics Foundation (nef). He led nef from two to fifty staff, creating the leading ‘think-and-do tank’, looking at ethical market activity, local economies and public service reform. He was described by the Independent as “the most authoritative voice in the country speaking up for consumers”, while the Guardian has nominated him as one of the top 100 most influential figures in British social policy. He has co-written a book, “Consumer Kids” with Agnes Nairn on marketing to children, published by Constable in 2009.
Julie Richardson is Head of Economics at Schumacher College. She has over 20 years international experience working in a range of sectors and organisations, including as a senior environmental policy advisor to the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and as Principal Sustainability Officer for Forum for the Future. Since graduating from Schumacher College’s MSc in Holistic Science programme, she has undertaken a range of projects to show how new thinking in science can be applied to sustainable development. This includes a report for the Design Council on sustainable design in the UK and a scoping study on how holistic science can inform environmental policymaking for the Environment Agency. The new Landscope project at Dartington arose out of this work. Julie has published widely, including her most recent co-authored book, The Triple Bottom Line: Does It All Add Up? The book highlights a fresh approach to organisational performance that takes account of environmental, social and economic impacts.
£850 – The course runs from Monday to Saturday lunchtime
All course fees include accommodation, food, field trips and all teaching sessions.
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