Growth Imperatives Research Articles

Counter-Hegemonic Decision Premises in Commons-Based Peer Production: A Degrowth Case Study

Capitalism is evidently the main cause of ecological degradation, climate change and social inequality. Degrowth as a counter-hegemony opposes the capitalist imperatives of economic growth and capital accumulation and radically seeks to transform society towards sustainability. This has strong political economic implications. Economic organisations and modes of production are essential in overcoming capitalist hegemony. This article investigates two commons-based peer production (CBPP) organisations in a qualitative case study by asking how they could align with degrowth counter-hegemony to help overcome capitalism. Social systems theory is used as an organisational lens to empirically research decision premises and their degrowth counter-hegemonic alignment. The results show that this alignment is possible in relatively small organisations. However, to help degrowth succeed, CBPP needs to be more widely adopted, for which larger organisations seem better equipped. Future studies focusing on the concept of scaling wide in CBPP networks in the context of degrowth counter-hegemony are suggested.

Media Pseudologies

In this article, the author seeks to understand how any information society generates clusters of information that act to secure and reinforce ecologies of consumption for media conglomerates and its circle of consumers. Empirical case studies would show that news information may not be based in the larger realities of all the players involved. Societies may be described in such situations as desiring their ends by means of segmented branching, but more empirically, by imperatives of survival and growth. Pseudology comprise the only sustaining principle of discourse for such a world immersed and fragmented by its local interests and their recognizable patterns of behavior as they are retrospectively conditioned by media.

Threats to Decolonial Immanent Ethics

The last three decades have witnessed a distinct shift in the identity and purpose of higher education across the world. From being a site for predominantly public institutions offering a Humboltian social good, higher education has morphed towards narrowly responding to powerful national economic growth imperatives. Both public and private institutions now compete aggressively along neoliberal market principles to provide an economic good. African higher education is not immune to such persuasions. There is now aggressive competition for students, personnel, and physical and economic resources. An insidious performativity discourse has become normalised, emphasising outcomes, throughputs, and performance measurements. This culture is likely to impact the work of the academe, especially as it relates to research and scholarship, is without question. There is little contention that the understanding and application of fundamental ethical principles in the conduct of research is likely to be threatened. Contemplating (South) African research ethics in institutions whose governance is inspired by the traditional colonial (Anglo) model that pledges allegiance to a heterosexual white male value system, which requires a critical deconstruction in the face of transformation and social cohesion discourses that urge the rejection of race and race markers and a discounting of identity politics. This conceptual article considers how we might mitigate the deleterious effects of a neoliberal higher education milieu and the marginalising of (Black) race as a compelling socio-cultural resource. This paper argues for a transition from a narrow, technical, ethical compliance towards understanding and applying Deleuzian immanent ethics.

The institutional environment dominants and Ukraine's economy structural dynamics features

Relevance of the research topic. The problem of the national economy sustainability maintaining by building an institutional environment for inclusive development is relevant. Problem statement. There is an increasing emphasis on the need to choose a policy of so-called inclusive development, the feature of which is the all population segments involvement in solving social and economic problems [1; 2]. In Ukraine, the implementation of these tasks will allow to achieve a balance of goals stated in economic development programs. Analysis of recent research and publications. The essence and tasks of economic systems inclusive development in line with the concept of sustainable development were studied by J. Gupta [3], Z. Darvas [4], A. Bazyliuk [5], V. Geets [2], O. Prodius [6], I. Taranenko [7], L. Fedulova [8] and others. Many researchers have considered the problem of sustainable development through the prism of institutional aspects [9-13]. Selection of unexplored parts of the general problem. Inclusion was considered mainly in the context of equal access to education, but the problem should be considered more broadly and ways to solve it in the context of improving the Ukraine institutional environment structure should be found. Setting the task, the purpose of the study. Analyze the reasons for the dominance of extractive institutional factors in Ukraine, characterize their impact on the economic entities choice of the competitive strategies and evaluate their choice results in terms of the national economy structural dynamics and its competitiveness. Method or methodology of the study. In the research process the methods of statistical analysis, logical generalization, scientific abstraction and synthesis have been used. Presentation of the main material (results of work). The reasons of extractive institutional factors dominance in Ukraine have been analyzed, their influence on the business entities’ behavior strategies choice has been characterized. The connection of their choice with the results of the national economy structural dynamics has been shown. The structural and logical scheme of inclusive institutions mechanism influence on economic processes in Ukraine has been developed. The field of application of results. The research can be used by public administration and local self-government bodies, business entities, educational and scientific institutions in educational and scientific activities. Conclusions according to the article. Inclusive development should be based on the national economy modernization, the economic growth imperatives transformation through the development of the country's social capital, social activity increasing and involving population broad sections to the qualitative change process. This will be facilitated by the institutional environment development towards the displacement of extractive institutions and the expansion of the influence sphere of institutions that meet the inclusive development objectives.

МЕНЕДЖМЕНТ РЕСУРСІВ В СИСТЕМІ ЛОКАЛІЗАЦІЇ ІМПЕРАТИВІВ СТАЛОГО РОЗВИТКУ БІЗНЕС СЕРЕДОВИЩА

The article presents author's approaches to the formation of the system of local imperatives of sustainable growth of Ukraine as a theoretical basis for the creation of an effective model of economic activity, equivalent to the ecological subsystem and aimed at restoring the generated capital. The aim of the article is the formation of conceptual bases of constructing of effective mechanism of resources management in the system of localization of sustainable development imperatives of business environment in conditions of post-crisis recovery of Ukraine`s socio-economic. The methodological basis of the research was the positions of classical and modern economic theory, works of domestic and foreign scholars on the issues of sustainable development, government regulation of the economy. The basic hypothesis of the research was the assumption of the necessity to limit and concretize the general world imperatives of sustainable development by narrowing their concept and expanding their content in accordance with the local context of development of the socio-economic system of Ukraine. Statement of the basic material. The results of systematization of objective limitations of implementation of the general imperatives of sustainable development have made it possible to identify relevant national imperatives. These local imperatives provide for the formation of: an effective model of economic activity, equivalent to an ecological subsystem and aimed at the recovery of generated capital and the creation of conditions for the transition to a post-industrial model; an institutional environment and a system of public administration aimed at ensuring the equitable distribution of resources both within the existing generation and between existing and future generations; exclusively economically oriented behavior of agents and overcoming exogenous resource dependence to ensure efficient distribution of endogenous resources over time with adequate consideration of natural capital. Originality and practical relevance of the research. The obtained theoretical and methodological concept has a theoretical relevance and can be transformed into an appropriate applied toolkit for sustainable development strategy formation. Conclusions. The existing system of localization of the imperatives of sustainable development of business environment creates the basis for forming the national strategy of sustainable development aimed at ensuring the integrity (existence) of the socio-economic system of Ukraine. Further research will be focused on the development of instrumental and methodological support of the business environment resource management system

Why franchisors recruit franchisees from the ranks of their employees

ABSTRACT A shortage of suitable franchisees has long plagued the Australian franchise industry impacting franchisors’ capacity to grow their chains. This exploratory research identifies, defines and examines an unresearched category of franchisees that of internally recruited franchisees, who prior to their franchise recruitment were employees of the franchisor. This category has previously been ignored by the literature even though estimates of some chains place the proportion of internally recruited franchisees at over 40 per cent. Employing qualitative interviews with key franchisor decision makers this research begins to address this gap. This study investigates what factors drive franchisors to recruit franchisees from the ranks of their employees and how they perceive this impacts on the achievement of franchising’s four strategic imperatives of unit growth, system uniformity, local responsiveness and system-wide adaption. Seven drivers for the internal recruiting of franchisees were identified: company owned units, significant system hierarchy, larger unit scale, unit viability, system maturity, capital freedom and strong growth in unit numbers. A preliminary model of factors influencing the propensity of franchise systems to recruit franchisees internally is presented. This research provides the first contribution to the franchise literature on the internally recruited franchisee phenomenon. In a practical sense this study should influence the recruitment practices of franchisors.

Coal's Persistence in the Capitalist World-Economy

Predominant analyses of energy offer insufficient theoretical and political-economic insight into the persistence of coal and other fossil fuels. The dominant narrative of coal powering the Industrial Revolution, and Great Britain's world dominance in the nineteenth century giving way to a U.S.- and oil-dominated twentieth century, is marred by teleological assumptions. The key assumption that a complete energy “transition” will occur leads some to conceive of a renewable-energy-dominated twenty-first century led by China. After critiquing the teleological assumptions of modernization, ecological modernization, energetics, and even world-systems analysis of energy “transition,” this paper offers a world-systems perspective on the “raw” materialism of coal. Examining the material characteristics of coal and the unequal structure of the world-economy, the paper uses long-term data from governmental and private sources to reveal the lack of transition as new sources of energy are added. The increases in coal consumption in China and India as they have ascended in the capitalist world-economy have more than offset the leveling-off and decline in some core nations. A true global peak and decline (let alone full substitution) in energy generally and coal specifically has never happened. The future need not repeat the past, but technical, policy, and movement approaches will not get far without addressing the structural imperatives of capitalist growth and the uneven power structures and processes of long-term change of the world-system.

Towards a Socio-Political Approach to Water Management: Successes and Limitations of IWRM Programs in Rural Northwestern China

In rural northwestern China, the tension between economic growth and ecological crises demonstrate the limitations of dominant top-down approaches to water management. In the 1990’s, the Chinese government adopted the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach to combat the degradation of water and ecological systems throughout its rural regions. While the approach has had some success at reducing desertification, water shortage, and ecological deterioration, there are important limitations and obstacles that continue to impede optimum outcomes in water management. As the current IWRM approach is instituted through a top-down centralized bureaucratic structure, it often fails to address the socio-political context in which water management is embedded and therefore lacks a complete treatment of how power is embedded in the bureaucracy and how it articulates through economic growth imperatives set by the Chinese state. The approach has relied on infrastructure-heavy and technocratic solutions to govern water demand, which has worked to undermine the focus on integration and public participation. Finally, the historical process through which water management mechanisms have been instituted is fraught with bureaucratic fragmentation and processes of centralization that work against some of its primary goals such as reducing uncertainty and risk in water management systems. This article reveals the historical, social, political, and economic processes behind these shortcomings in water management in rural northwestern China by focusing on the limitations of a top-down approach that rely on infrastructure, technology, and quantification, and thereby advances a more holistic, socio-political perspective for water management that considers the state-society dynamics inherent in water governance in rural China.

Toward a socio-political approach to water management: successes and limitations of IWRM programs in rural northwestern China

In rural north-western China, the tension between economic growth and ecological crises demonstrates the limitations of dominant top-down approaches to water management. In the 1990s, the Chinese government adopted the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach to combat the degradation of water and ecological systems throughout its rural regions. While the approach has had some success at reducing desertification, water shortage, and ecological deterioration, there are important limitations and obstacles that continue to impede optimum outcomes in water management. As the current IWRM approach is instituted through a top-down centralized bureaucratic structure, it often fails to address the socio-political context in which water management is embedded and therefore lacks a complete treatment of how power is embedded in the bureaucracy and how it articulates through economic growth imperatives set by the Chinese state. The approach has relied on infrastructure heavy and technocratic solutions to govern water demand, which has worked to undermine the focus on integration and public participation. Finally, the historical process through which water management mechanisms have been instituted are fraught with bureaucratic fragmentation and processes of centralization that work against some of its primary goals such as reducing uncertainty and risk in water management systems. This article reveals the historical, social, political, and economic processes behind these shortcomings in water management in rural northwestern China by focusing on the limitations of a top-down approach that rely on infrastructure, technology, and quantification, and thereby advances a more holistic, socio-political perspective for water management that considers the state-society dynamics inherent in water governance in rural China.

Inclusive Development of the Ukrainian Economy

It is determined that inclusive development comprises processes of economic growth and development, inclusiveness as a system of inclusions, takes into account the anthropogenic burden on the ecosystem, as well as the relational nature of socio-economic transformations. Inclusive growth is based on the concepts of sustainable development of the knowledge economy, human centrism, neo-industrialization, green economy, neuralism. The methodology of the World Economic Forum for assessing the inclusive development level has been adapted to the conditions of the regional economy of Ukraine. The inclusive development level of the regional economy in 2013-2017 is analyzed, the main imperatives of inclusive growth in Ukraine are determined.

ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ ТЕОРІЙ ДОБРОБУТУ У ПОСТУЛАТАХ ЕКОНОМІЧНИХ ШКІЛ ТА КОНЦЕПЦІЙ

The article presents the evolution of wellbeing theories in the postulates of economic schools and concepts. It has been established that the first period of development of economic wellbeing theories was marked by polarized tendencies of market or state domination, which led to the consideration of social wellbeing by economists-theorists in the macroeconomic aspect. It has also been found out that forming the foundation of future scientific research their representatives laid the foundations for methodological understanding and development of many economic theories. The second direction of development of wellbeing theories is based on the imperatives of economic growth (location theories, neoclassical theories, theories of cumulative growth, institutional theories and new theories of regional development). It has been found that the rethinking of approaches to local and regional development at the present stage is associated with the actualization of the theory of endogenous development and the concept of local economic development (place-based theory). It has been found out that along with theories of well-being based on the economic concept, theories that determine the social status of people from the standpoint of their high standard of living and human development are widespread in international research. The third direction of wellbeing theories, related to the search for measures of human development that go beyond GDP, is now formed from an alternative flow of scientific thought in the established scientific direction. The end of the last century was marked by a significant interest in social indicators, outlined in various doctrinal forms: social progress, human development, quality of life, wellbeing in a new sense, as well as increasing attention to the individual and their original organizational groups (family, households, communities), and the definition of their weight in the relationship «state-market». Common expression of these concepts is a person whose view transformed from a purely materialist understanding of their wellbeing to a broader point of view – a person who professes values and is in collective interaction. The present study of the evolution of wellbeing theory indicates the need for the formation and implementation of public policy in the direction of intensifying local development and provision of high quality public services based on the principle of subsidiarity. Keywords: wellbeing, state, market, territorial community, economic growth, local economic development, human development, quality of life, subjective well-being

Growth imperatives: Substantiating a contested concept

Economic growth remains a prominent political goal, despite its conflicts with ecological sustainability. Are growth policies only a question of political or individual will, or do ‘growth imperatives’ make them inescapable? We structure the debate along two dimensions: (a) degree of coerciveness between free will and coercion, and (b) agents affected. With carefully derived micro level definitions of ‘social coercion’ and ‘growth imperative’, we discuss several mechanisms suspected to make growth necessary for firms, households, and nation states. We identify technological innovations as a systematic necessity to net invest, trapping firms and households in a positive feedback loop to increase efficiency. Resource-intensive technology is economically attractive because of a subtle violation of the meritocratic principle of justice. The resulting dilemma between ‘technological unemployment’ and the social necessity of high employment explains why states ‘must’ foster economic growth. Politically, we suggest to institutionally limit resource consumption and redistribute economic rents.

An offer you can't refuse: Enhancing personal productivity through ‘efficiency consumption’

Worldwide, economic growth is a prominent political goal, despite its severe conflicts with ecological sustainability. Contributing to the debate on economic ‘growth imperatives’, this article explores the thesis that both firms and consumers frequently acquire goods that increase their efficiency (productivity). For firms, efficiency is accepted as a main investment motive, but for consumers it is usually framed as convenience, ease, or comfort. Via social diffusion processes consumer goods that can save time and costs are transformed from a welcome expansion of possibilities into a social imperative whose noncompliance over time also has economic drawbacks. Positive feedback mechanisms not only lead to an acceleration of private life but favor ever more efficient industry and trade structures on the supply side, contributing to a redistribution of incomes and revenues. Eventually, a comprehensive consumption pattern leads to a new ‘normality’ and makes the renunciation of consumer goods like cars, computers or smartphones virtually impossible. Both microeconomics and consumption sociology generally assume fundamental differences in the motivations, goals and overall structural conditions of firms and consumers. Some reasons for this scholarly asymmetry are discussed and a more symmetrical consumption model is proposed.

Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives

In 2016, South Africa became the first African country to draft Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) legislation. The underlying legal framework supports the achievement of ecological, social and economic objectives, but a national policy to grow the oceans economy provides a challenge for ecosystem-based approaches to MSP. During the 2018 International Marine Conservation Congress in Borneo, we convened a special session to discuss particular challenges that will likely apply to any developing country seeking to increase profits from existing, or proposed, marine activities. Here we present six inter-disciplinary research projects that support ecosystem-based approaches to MSP in South Africa, by addressing the following key challenges: (1) measuring ecosystem condition; (2) modelling impacts of climate change on food webs and fisheries; (3) managing fisheries with an ecosystem approach; (4) using dynamic ocean management to resolve conflicts between fisheries and threatened species; (5) managing conflicting objectives in a growing marine tourism industry; and (6) developing scenarios for alternative management strategies in complex marine social-ecological systems.

Critical Discourse Analysis and the ecological turn in intercultural communication

ABSTRACTIntercultural communication and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) have formed a fruitful partnership over the last decade. However, both stand at a juncture with exciting possibilities and imperatives for growth as the fields reflect on their overwhelming emphasis on deconstructive critiques and largely anthropocentric inquiry. In a recent work, S. Lily Mendoza and I argued that (critical) intercultural communication must go beyond its exclusive attention to anthropocentric concerns and begin to approach identity, culture, and intercultural communication from an ecologically grounded perspective. One part of this move is the need for examining culture, communication, and interculturality with critical eyes on the ways anthropocentrism shapes and organizes them, and another part is engaging and exploring alternatives. Building on this argument, this essay will discuss the potential of CDA in playing an integral role in the ecological turn in the study of intercultural communication. With rapidly deteriorating ecological health as an urgent context, CDA has already begun to take an ecological turn as marked by the articulation of ecolingustics as CDA. This essay presents a discussion of ecolingustics as a promising lens through which to examine intercultural communication.

Sustainability in an Emerging Nation: The Bhutan Case Study

With the onset of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, the world’s nations were to create economic development integrating environmental and social improvement. However, there is still much uncertainty in the world of politics and academia as to whether these integrated goals are achievable and how they can fit best with diverse national and local contexts. Thus, there is always a need to find nations that can show how it can be achieved in different settings shaped by local experiences, challenges, and opportunities. Bhutan could be one of these nations as it could be argued that it has, to an extent, simplified the task to fit its values and aspirations. Bhutan has three major goals that need to be integrated: Wealth (GDP) to align with their middle-income aspiration, thus providing opportunities for employment, Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG) that are maintained at a carbon neutral level, which is beyond most national commitments, and Bhutan’s renowned Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, which covers their socio-economic goals. We show this integration and then synthesize some core findings from a literature review on the theory and practice of sustainable development through the lens of the three integrated goals of Bhutan, thereby placing the case of Bhutan into the wider literature. This paper seeks to show how one emerging nation can model an operational sustainability policy. The paper highlights some plausible synergies between the 17 SDGs and the domains and indicators of GNH that could help nations struggling with how they can create sensible sustainability outcomes from these new global agendas. Bhutan has framed the GNH as its contribution to sustainability. However, this paper suggests that it may be the integration of the GNH with GDP and GHG that is its real contribution. Furthermore, Bhutan’s 3G model of fully integrating GNH, GDP, and GHG suggests a way forward for achieving their imperatives of economic growth, whilst enabling the SDGs and achieving the difficult climate change goal. It may also suggest a model for other nations wanting to find a complementary way of framing economic growth, the 17 SDGs, and the Paris Agreement into a coherent set of policies.

Wachstumszwänge und das Verhältnis von Ethik und Ökonomie

I argue that the relation between ethics and economy needs to be reflected further by philosophy of economics. Especially the aspects of social philosophy and fundamental theory of economy are crucial in that respect. The relation between ethics and economy is highly affected by the status of economic imperatives. I analyse economic imperatives as growth imperatives and draw conclusions for the relation between ethics and economy.

Beyond the mogul: From media conglomerates to portfolio media

The article shows that outside ownership of media moves in stages – from media properties as the mouthpiece for personal and business interests, to a second stage of conglomerates seeking economic “synergies” of performance, to a third stage dominated by financial portfolio diversification. These phases of outside media ownership correspond to the stages of economic development in that country.The article finds that in rich countries, the ownership of media by industrial companies as a way to create political influence has been declining. The second phase, based on economic synergies, has become a less significant driver, too. On the other hand, there has been a significant growth of cross-ownership through financial intermediaries. In contrast, the media systems of emerging and developing countries are still operating in the first two phases of cross-ownership, centered on projection of influence and on conglomerate business synergies.It is quite likely that these dynamics will lead to a “capture gap” between emerging and rich societies. Media in the former would be significantly more captured through the seekers of personal influence and conglomerate synergies, while media in the latter are subject to professional investors imperatives of profitability, growth, predictability, and fit into portfolio diversification. The same financial institutions from rich countries are also likely to seek acquisitions in the emerging markets by leapfrogging the two other stages. The likely responses are restrictions on foreign ownership of media. Domestic conglomerates will step in and assume control. Media capture will then become patriotic.The article is fact-based and provides details on the media assets of non-media companies in 26 countries accounting for about 60% of the world’s population and over 80% of its economy.

Dynamic Stabilization, the Triple A. Approach to the Good Life, and the Resonance Conception

A society is modern when it operates in a mode of dynamic stabilization, i.e., when it systematically requires growth, innovation and acceleration in order to maintain its socio-economic and institutional status quo. Within this frame, this essay presents an analysis of modern society that explains the structural features which lead into this escalatory cycle. Secondly, it identifies the corresponding cultural “imperatives for growth” that translate the structural requirement of growth, acceleration and innovation into a strategic necessity in the humans’ search for a good life. Thirdly, it presents an alternative conception of the good life, based on the concept of resonance, which also proves to be an indispensable tool for a critique of social conditions.

Laudato Si' and the Papal View of Ecological Debt: An Empirical Exploration

In 2015, Pope Francis released his second papal encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home (Francis, 2015), the central idea of which is the Holy Father’s concern for the future of our planet, our common home, and to seek sustainable and integral development. The purpose of this article is to critically and empirically examine the specific notion of ecological debt as described in the encyclical (Francis, 2015: 51 and 52), beginning with a historical background on the origins and use of the term. We then touch upon the Pope’s discussion of ecological debt and his indictment of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Laudato Si’, which resonate with the so-called pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) which states that pollutionintensive industries in developed countries relocate their “dirty” industries to developing countries with relatively lax environmental regulations. In a similar vein, we propose that a rise in total greenhouse gases is associated with the resource extraction and commodity export-based activities of MNCs in developing countries where such activities and their resultant pollution are subject to less stringent regulations due to imperatives for economic growth. This creates an ecological debt when commodity exports from developing countries to more developed ones come at the cost of the environment in the former. Our article thus connects Laudato Si’ with PHH, enabling us to empirically examine the Pope’s statement that the “export of raw materials to satisfy markets in the industrialized North has caused harm locally” (Francis, 2015: 51).