A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT TRANSITIONING TO A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC SYSTEM

With thanks to Reel to Real Cinema, the Stove Network and the Climate Kitchen Dumfries for providing the opportunity to view and discuss this film. 

There is no argument with the fundamental premise of Outgrow the System, that we need to transition to a sustainable economy and that the growth model embodied in neo-liberal economics is threatening our future. The film is well made and full of optimism and shows some encouraging examples of where changes are actually being made.  A number of these were  inspired by Kate Raworths “Doughnut Economics”, evidence one might think that she is onto something important. Doughnut economics however is not really an economic theory, rather it is a set of aspirations. Raworth features prominently in the film and proposes her ideas with an obvious passion which, for me, overstates the importance of what she has to say. Of course we must move to an economy which meets the needs of the poorest in the World whilst also protecting the environment from the depredations of industrial production.  This all seems to me very reasonable and not a return to stone age living as some of her opponents might wish to characterise her proposition. Raworth will certainly be an inspiration to many but there is a shortfall of Realpolitik in her thinking. Just as some are adopting doughnut thinking in the administration and planning of cities, so others are pushing back energetically against such change. 

Timothée Parrique, interviewed for the film says with comparable conviction:  “Anything that has been socially constructed can be socially deconstructed” but offers no guidance as to how this “deconstruction” may be catalysed.  The capitalist economy grew spontaneously, one might even say organically, from the roots of the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th Century. Its defining characteristic in that early phase was a lack of regulation. Having passed through various crises and collapses Keynsian economics emerged in the 20th Century and influenced Franklin Roosevelts New Deal in the United States, a genuine attempt to manage capitalism so that it might work in favour of the whole population and attain some kind of stable pattern of growth. The economic theories of Frederick Hayek were, however, deeply critical of Keynsianism and adroitly, one might even say cunningly, framed their ideas as a defence of individual freedom against the intrusive and expanding regulation of the state. 

The election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and Ronald Regan in 1980 introduced the modern era of neo-liberal economics based on Hayek’s ideas.[1] One may argue as to whether the  “reforms” Thatcher and Regan introduced were an essential part of the extraordinary technological revolution which ensued, but clearly free marketeers and deregulators are happy to claim credit for the iPhone, the Internet and the coming storm of Artificial Intelligence. 

Can any of this revolution, as Timothée Parrique suggests, “be socially deconstructed.”  I think it may be possible to effect a political deconstruction of some of these developments where they are harming the environment, but that will take a managed economy of the kind that Roosevelt pioneered and such a project clearly has opponents, not all of them rich oligarchs. People have become very attached to wasteful patterns of consumption, to foreign holidays, to driving to the supermarket. The appeal of voices on the populist right who wish to undermine the power of the state, is obvious. 

Outgrow the System drew attention to “globalised embedded inequality” and the role that multinational corporations play in our unequal world. These companies operate in a realm where they can, with relative ease, move their operations to countries with a framework of low tax and regulation. They can lobby politicians, and undermine democratic decision making. 

No significant ideas were put forward in the film which might bring multinationals under greater democratic control. There was no talk of how we might build effective supranational democracy;  there was no talk of state-funding for political parties as a way of stemming the political influence of rich donors;  there was no talk of electoral reform, important in a United Kingdom context as a way of building a more consensual politics, more resilient to the blandishments of the populist right.  

It has to be admitted that each one of these constitutional changes is a major political campaign in its own right. I am not proposing, however, that we should put promotion of Doughnut Economics on hold whilst we get these other things done. These are all campaigns which can and should be run in parallel.  

Just another couple of points arising from Outgrow the System.

One interviewee stated: “We have enough food.” They were making the point that malnutrition is a problem of distribution not production.This is undeniable, but in a film expressly about the future of our planet, why was it not also said that consumption of animal protein is creating a huge problem for the environment, is a factor involved in the destruction of the rainforest, and that we must make a cultural shift to a diet based on vegetable protein.  Achieving this will not be easy, though there are important voices, including Henry Dimbleby in his book Ravenous: How to get ourselves and our planet into shape  making the case that changing our diet is not just about the health of the planet but is also very much bound up with the health of individuals. [2]

The film featured a number of examples of worker cooperative type enterprise and made a strong case for more democracy in industry. These are interesting ideas, but it seems clear that they will fit more easily into some enterprises than others and it is important to accept  that any closed democratic system does not always work in  favour of  wider democratic interests. The most frequently quoted example of this problem is trade unionism, a movement I strongly support, by the way. I note a recent interview with Sajid Javid where he spoke of his father’s attempt to become a bus driver in the United Kingdom and how this was blocked by his father’s Trades Union which insisted that only white people could drive buses and that he must be content with being a conductor.  He wasn’t content with that however, and won the right through court action to be a driver. Perhaps however, we shouldn’t be surprised that his son, Sajid, went on to join the UK Tory Party. [3]

References 

Acknowledgments

Featured Image 

Hedge laying, near Loch Arthur, Dumfries, 23rd February, 2024, photo SPS