The delusion of infinite economic growth is the most widespread form of witchcraft in the world today. By incessantly repeating (via mainstream media, politicians, demagogues, etc) that endless growth is possible, it induces people to believe that it is really possible. Nothing is farther from the truth, and we may be getting close to ecological tipping points that will inevitably end the delusion and force humanity to transition from growth to degrowth. With regard to human population growth, whence all other forms of artificial growth emanate, this is where we are:
After the Industrial Revolution, access to cheap surplus energy, contained in ample supply of food via industrial agriculture powered by fossil fuels, has induced human population to grow at a rate never seen before. There is no other explanation for growing from 1 billion to 8 billion in 200 years. But now that we have 8 billion people alive on the planet, we must feed them without consuming all the fauna and vegetation faster than it can be regenerated. So, what do we do? Fostering more growth is certainly not the answer, but we must understand the dynamics of growth before we can consider reasonable options for degrowth.
Economic Growth and Uneconomic Growth
It is crucial to understand that the economic process unfolds within the boundaries of the planet, is utterly dependent on the biosphere and other natural resources, and cannot transgress the laws of physics. Forget about conquering other planets. We are stuck here:
"The economic process is not a mechanical analog that can be run forward and backward, nor a circular process that can return to any previous state. Rather it is an irreversible and irrevocable process moving in the direction of time’s arrow of increasing entropy. Finitude and entropy guarantee that the economic life of our species will be a journey of no return. Therefore even a stationary economy, in the classical sense of constant population and constant capital stock, is ultimately a journey of no return, because the metabolic throughput of matter and energy required to maintain constant stocks of people and physical capital, in the face of depreciation and death, is an entropic flow from ever less concentrated sources to ever filling sinks—and both sources and sinks are finite." Herman Daly, Steady State Herald, Creative Commons, 23 August 2019
"Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy over a certain period of time. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of increase in the real gross domestic product, or real GDP." "Uneconomic growth is economic growth that reflects or creates a decline in the quality of life." In other words, more is not necessarily better. We are learning that material prosperity is actually a double edged sword. Too much material prosperity often becomes detrimental for integral human development and an integral ecology. Economic growth and population growth feed each other, not necessarily for the social and ecological common good.
The global population is now almost 8 billion. The planet is becoming crowded. More people, mostly concentrated in urban areas, create more problems (social entropy). Industrial agriculture, powered by fossil fuels, is needed to produce enough food for 8 billion people, thereby generating more emissions and more toxic pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, and more ecological overshoot. More land is invaded, more forests are burned, more minerals are extracted from mines. And then, more billions/trillions of dollars are invested to "fix" problems and pretend that endless growth is not ending yet. Such "fixes" induce more energy throughput, which in turn induces more population growth (more cheap labor is always needed), and the tightly coupled population and economic growth loops keeps iterating ad nauseam, creating material "prosperity" at the expense of social and ecological well-being. This is uneconomic growth.
Globalization, Financialization, and Ecological Overshoot
Globalization "is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide." All countries are now interconnected by a web of trade agreements and supply chains that foster the growth of world GDP-PPP (purchasing power parity). Financialization "is a term sometimes used to describe the development of financial capitalism during the period from 1980 to present, in which debt-to-equity ratios increased and financial services accounted for an increasing share of national income relative to other sectors." The combination of globalization and financialization, enabled by cheap fossil fuels, is inducing enormous GDP-PPP growth:
It is amazing that GDP-PPP keeps increasing so rapidly. Relatively cheap surplus energy (cheap in relation to the profits derived from burning fossil fuels) is what enables such exponential growth. A comprehensive analysis of this phenomenon is provided by Charles Hall and Kent Klitgaard in Energy and the Wealth of Nations: Understanding the Biophysical Economy: "In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, and as energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption become major issues on the world stage, this exemption appears illusory at best." The concept of Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI, or EROIE) is key. Basically, it is the ratio of usable energy delivered over the energy used in the process of delivering that energy. Without getting into number crunching technicalities, this summary of another book by Hall explains the economic and biophysical criticality of EROI:
"This authoritative but highly accessible book presents the reader with a powerful framework for understanding the critical role of the energy return on investment (EROI) in the survival and well-being of individuals, ecosystems, businesses, economies and nations. Growth and development are fundamental and ubiquitous processes at all scales, from individuals to food crops to national economies. While we are all familiar with the concepts of economic growth and living standards as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), we often take for granted the energy use that underpins GDP and our expectations for year-on-year growth. In this book, you will learn how these measures of “progress” are completely dependent on the balance that can be achieved between energy costs (inputs) and gains. Nothing is made or moved without an energy surplus, and it is the EROI of available energy sources more than any other single factor that determines the shape of civilization.
"Nearly all politics and economics assume that policy and market forces are the levers upon which future outcomes will hinge. However, this book presents many examples of historical and current events that can be explained much more clearly from an energetic perspective. In addition, a future scenario is developed that gives a central place to EROI in assessing the potential of governmental and private initiatives to substitute so-called renewable energy sources for diminishing stocks of fossil fuels. When cheap fossil fuels are no longer available in the abundance needed to mask economic problems and power business as usual, it will be EROI more than the plethora of “green” technologies that creates the boundary conditions for a sustainable future." Charles Hall, Energy Return on Investment: A Unifying Principle for Biology, Economics, and Sustainability, 2017.
In other words, our current industrial civilization requires nonrenewable fossil fuels with high EROI, like oil and gas. The problem is that burning fossil fuels is creating many kinds of harmful pollution that is corrupting the ecological integrity of the planet, and may even be inducing climate change. Thus far, the illusory expectation that renewable energy technologies with low EROI can replace fossil fuels and maintain the same level of energy throughput are not materializing. New ideas and lab experiments are not lacking, but scaling up is a problem. Manufacturing, installation, and maintenance of solar panels, wind mills, and other such equipment requires burning huge amounts of fossil fuels. Extraction of nonrenewable minerals is required for batteries. Disposal of equipment with toxic content is becoming a problem, because most landfills leak. So the problem is not limited to air pollution; water and food are becoming polluted as well. As the demand for energy continues to growth (in accordance with the Maximum Power Principle), burning fossil fuels will continue to be indispensable in the foreseeable future. There is no free lunch. The only sensible solution is stabilization of the human enterprise, and it is reasonable to anticipate that population and economic contraction may be required before stabilization can be attained.
The green color is beautiful, but it is becoming dangerous. There are many "green" incantations, such as greenwashing pursuant to giving the impression that humans can have their cake and eat it too. We hear about absurdities such as "clean coal," "rainforest certified," and "green growth." The concept of sustainable development is misunderstood as sustaining material development without regard for sustaining the regeneration capacity of natural resources. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are in jeopardy and may turn out to be unfeasible. The so-called Green New Deal is the same dog with a different collar. The Green Revolution that started 60 years ago has served to feed the growing world population, which is good, but this in turn has created human overpopulation and ecological overshoot, which are bad. Again, there is no free lunch. Consider the REAL Green New Deal. Degrowth and stabilization may be the only path to follow if the human species is to survive in the long term. Shattering illusions and helping people to face reality is the highest priority at the moment. It is also a matter of justice, as economic inequality is becoming obscene at the same time that the ecological integrity of the planet is being imperiled.
The Passing of Patriarchal Growth
We have been bewitched by the patriarchal culture of dominion and material growth at the expense of the poor and non-human nature. An infamous document, Malleus Maleficarum, also known as the Hammer of Witches, was published in 1486 as a guide to fight witchcraft. Now we need another Malleus Maleficarum, to fight ecological overshoot. Hopefully, it will not incite to burn people alive and will
guide people to embrace responsible parenthood and consumption sobriety.
In terms of growth dynamics, we need to slow down the population and consumption growth loops, and activate both population and consumption stabilization loops. The following diagram means that the population and consumption loops (solid line arrows) are slowed down by resource shortage loops (point line arrows) and waste accumulation loops (dashed line arrows). The diagram is conceptually simple, but politically incorrect and not easy to implement at any level (local, national, regional, global) as long as we remain bewitched by patriarchal delusions of grandeur and endless growth:
Click on the image to enlarge. The positive signs on the consumption and population loops indicate that they are self-reinforcing growth loops, i.e., growth generates more growth. The negative signs indicate self-correcting loops that are activated when environmental constraints impede additional growth. For more information on the feedback loops, click here.
Current energy trends, including recent news and technological forecasting, would seem to justify increasing concern that we are reaching peak growth in terms of population and consumption, with GDP growth already peaking due to peaking energy availability, GDP per capita already faltering, social cohesion decreasing, and world population peaking and decreasing during this century unless something dramatic is done to prevent food supply shortages and disruption of health care services. Based on feedback loop analysis, this graph seems to summarize the state of the world, now and in the foreseeable future:
This is a computer simulation plot. Focus on the trends, not the numbers. This is one of many possible scenarios, not a prediction. Click on the image to enlarge. For more information on the causal loop diagrams, the simulation model, and plots of the simulated scenarios, click here.
What will happen when the patriarchal mindset of dominion faces the reality that growth is ending? We don't know, but it can be anticipated that it will not be pretty. It is reasonable to expect that it will be ugly, as ugly as the patriarchal mindset that has created all kinds of social and ecological abuse since the inception of human history. The ugliness can be mitigated if, and only if, human culture evolves away from patriarchy and toward more cooperation and solidarity, between humans and between humans and the human habitat. We need a conscious evolution from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism, from Homo economicus to Homo ecologicus. Is such a conscious evolution possible? This will be the focus of the next sequel, on degrowth dynamics.
The Persistence of Religious Patriarchy
There are many indications that the patriarchal mindset of dominion and endless growth via subjugation of nature is passing away. Recognition of gender equality as a matter of justice is a sign of the times. Climate change is another indicator that humans may be trespassing planetary boundaries. The Club of Rome, and many other institutions and researchers, have been alerting us about impossibility of unlimited growth for six decades. That climate change and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events constitute tangible evidence of economic development reaching planetary tipping points is now denied only by those who are willfully blind because they are seeking quick financial profits (aka "business as usual").
However, we still have to deal with the vexing persistence of religious patriarchy. Consider Genesis 1:26, a biblical manifesto of human supremacy. It is now being explained in a new light (cf. Pope Francis, Laudato si', 2015, #66). But in a seminal 1967 article, Lynn White persuasively argued that the patriarchal Judeo-Christian tradition is the historical root cause of the ecological crisis. Culture and religion can be distinguished but cannot be separated. Most religious traditions started in patriarchal societies and absorbed patriarchy as divine law. Afterwards, social patriarchy and religious patriarchy have been reinforcing each other for millennia. For this reason, the patriarchal mindset that is bringing us to obscene social inequality and ecological tipping points cannot be transcended as long as most religious traditions remain rigidly patriarchal. This issue is extensively discussed in another section of this website.
In religion, as well as in society, money leads to power. The global empire of real estate owned by the Christian churches is evidence that religious patriarchy persists. There is always a need for more money to keep buying land and building new facilities. Is this what Jesus taught? Most of the major world religions have been rigidly patriarchal with imperial aspirations (see, e.g., the doctrine of discovery). Some still are, as evidenced by the recent emergence of dictatorial theocratic states. Even in democratic countries, religious patriarchy persists and even well educated people continue to regard obsolete patriarchal stereotypes as a matter of faith. In the Catholic Church, every conceivable rationalization is being used to perpetuate a patriarchal hierarchy. Many people are still afraid to bring up this issue, but the patriarchal priesthood is not a matter of faith:
1. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, God made flesh, not a patriarch.
2. God the Father is a person, but not a male.
3. God the Son is a person, but was not a male before the incarnation.
4. God the Holy Spirit is a person, but not a male.
5. The Trinity is a communion of persons, not a patriarchate.
6. The "Son of Man" is God made flesh, not a patriarch.
7. All men and women are fully consubstantial in one and the same human nature.
8. Bodiliness and sexuality are not simply identical.
9. Being a body-soul is more fundamental for human nature than sexuality.
10. The body is a sacrament of the entire person, but is not the entire person.
11. The priest acts in the person of Christ, not in the masculinity of Christ.
12. All men and women are ontologically homogeneous in their whole being.
13. All men and women are of the same flesh in their somatic structure.
14. The complementarity of man and woman is enabled by their consubstantiality.
15. All men and women are fully consubstantial with Jesus Christ as to his humanity.
16. For the redemption, the masculinity of Jesus is as incidental as the color of his eyes.
17. Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life, not the male of life.
18. The substance of the Eucharist is BODY, not XX or XY chromosomes.
19. The substance of the Eucharist is FLESH, not testosterone.
20. The Church is "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic," but not necessarily patriarchal.
21. Patriarchy is a disordered attachment to the supremacy of masculinity.
22. The Church is a communion of persons, not a patriarchate.
23. The Church is the body of Christ, not a woman with a male head.
24. The Virgin Mary is the "type" of the Church, not a woman with a male head.
25. The Virgin Mary precedes the sacramental economy as Mother of the Eucharist.
26. The Marian dimension of the Church precedes the apostolic dimension.
27. Apostolic succession is contingent on redeemed flesh, not on masculinity.
28. The nuptial mystery of Christ and the Church is not a patriarchal marriage.
29. Canon 1024 is an artificial contraceptive and abortifacient of female priestly vocations.
30. Catechism 1577 reduces the priesthood of the New Law to priesthood of the Old Law.
31. Catechism 1598 declares that ordaining only males is a choice, not a dogma.
32. The exclusively male priesthood makes invisible the "feminine genius" in Christ.
33. The Christian/Catholic/Orthodox faith is not intrinsically (dogmatically) patriarchal.
34. The conflation of patriarchal gender ideology and Christian doctrines is a disgrace.
35. Institutionalized ecclesiastical patriarchy is an abuse against Christ and the Church.
36. It is time to discard the patriarchal scaffolding that obscures the Catholic faith.
37. Male headship is an ancient but entirely artificial cultural custom, not natural law.
38. After the resurrection, nothing requires that apostolic succession be exclusively male.
39. The first "transubstantiation" in history happened in the Blessed Virgin Mary's body.
40. Transubstantiation can happen via women ordained to act in persona Christi.
In the Catholic Church, the currently unfolding synodal process pursuant to improving communion, participation, and mission, offers a ray of hope that some day the patriarchal, imperial church will become a nonsexist, fully inclusive sacred community of committed believers centered on the Eucharist, witnessing by example of a simpler lifestyle, and free of the patriarchal scaffolding of religious pomp and circumstance that obscures the Christian faith and undoubtedly contributes to perpetuate the patriarchal mindset of domination (of men over women, men over other men, men over nature) in all dimensions of human life; and, needless to say, women who have internalized patriarchy can become more patriarchal than the patriarchs, so it is not only about ecclesiastical machismo. Patriarchal sorcery has a gender root but impedes the renewal of all dimensions of humanity, male and female.
Human nature is not the problem. Climate change is not the problem. Mother Nature is not the problem. Religious faith is not the problem. The patriarchal mindset of domination is the problem. It really doesn't matter much whether domination is attained by brute force, of by financial force, or by religious indoctrination, or by any other means. When the patriarchal mindset of domination is justified by religious patriarchy and enabled by the power of fossil fuels, what we get is what we have now: superfluous demand for goods and services, extravagant growth, extremes of social and economic inequality, trespassing of ecological boundaries, entropic disorder, overpopulation, overconsumption, and the overarching phenomenon of ecological overshoot.
What can we do to foster the evolution from Homo economicus to Homo ecologicus in both the secular and religious domains? Some good guidance, based on natural biophysical realities, is already available. Pope Francis' encyclicals Laudato Si' on sustainability, and Fratelli Tutti on solidarity, are good guidance for human agency by all men and women of good will. There is an intrinsic connection between the two encyclicals, because ecological sustainability is practically impossible to attain without human solidarity. So Laudato Si' explains the problem, although it fails to mention that overpopulation is a significant part of the problem. Fratelli Tutti explains the solution, although it ignores that the church is a patriarchy and is, therefore, part of the problem.
Lamentably, the patriarchal priesthood (exclusively male, per canon 1024, which specifies "male" rather than "person"), a symbol of domination of man over woman, is a disgraceful obstacle to cultural evolution away from the mindset of dominion, as Fratelli Tutti prescribes for the renewal of human civilization envisioned in Laudato Si' (114, 118). It is well known that dominion in the gender dimension of human relations extends to dominion in the social and ecological dimensions. Nevertheless, the Laudato Si' Action Platform and the Laudato Si' Movement are recommended as a practical way, especially for 1.3 billion Catholics, to play a part in conscious cultural evolution for the renewal of humanity and human civilization.
Goals of the Laudato Si' Action Platform:
(1) Hearing the Cry of the Earth
(2) Hearing the Cry of the Poor
(3) Ecological Economics
(4) Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles
(5) Ecological Education
(6) Ecological Spirituality
(7) Community Resilience and Empowerment
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