Abstract
Continuing growth, insofar as it increases human environmental impact, is in conflict with the environment. ‘Green growth’, if it increases the absolute size of the economy, is an oxymoron. Environmental limits are discountenanced, a pretence made possible because they are difficult to specify in advance. The consequent weakness in public discourse, both moral and intellectual, has worsened into contradiction as it has become ever more studiously unadmitted. It is obscured with language that is misleading or self-contradictory, and even issues from institutions that exist (and are relied upon) to respect correctness. At its most conforming it gives rise to overshoot, by which statements meant to sound authoritative are in fact open to ridicule. Such untruthfulness perpetuates climate change inaction, and in a kind of direct action those using such language, contrary to their public or professional duty, could be asked to justify themselves in plain English.
Highlights
This article is the third of three
The first showed how the simple truth, that economic growth must come to an end, is suppressed in favour of an often bogus optimism that helps to make meaningful climate change action a future object [1]
In the usual conception of green growth, Gross Domestic Product is decoupled from the consumption of natural resources so that growth can continue without adverse implications for the environment
Summary
This article is the third of three. The first showed how the simple truth, that economic growth must come to an end, is suppressed in favour of an often bogus optimism that helps to make meaningful climate change action a future object [1]. The second drew attention to how that had come about, a pervasive indifference and lack of accountability called post-reality [2] This third gives examples of the consequent contradictions in public discourse that weaken meaning and suggests how, in a kind of direct action, they could be challenged to bring about more truthfulness. The Contradiction distributed under the terms and Economic growth will create the future wealth to maintain full employment, enable innovation, abolish poverty and meet our debts, and is in any case required to prevent economic collapse This doctrine is unassailable while the associated costs to the social fabric and environment are disregarded. The contradiction is sometimes denied with the further oxymoron of ‘green growth’
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