Enough Is Enough

Our planet is finite. And on this finite planet we now have seven billion people, with an estimated three billion more on the way by midcentury. The seven billion of us have to find ways to reverse the environmental crises we've set in motion, eradicate poverty, and erase the divide between the haves and the have-nots. The economic orthodoxy in use around the globe-the pursuit of never-ending economic growth is not up to the challenge. With each passing day, we are witnessing more and more uneconomic growth-growth that costs more than it is worth. An economy that chases perpetually increasing production and consumption, always in search of more, stands no chance of achieving a lasting prosperity. The purpose of this book is to describe how to establish a prosperous yet non-growing economy. The emphasis is far less on diagnosing the problem-there are already many books that do that-- than on laying out practical solutions for achieving a steady-state economy and strategies for making them a reality. Now is the time to change the economic goal from the madness of more to the wisdom of enough. Enough Is Enough offers readers a much-needed escape route from the environmental and economic traps we've set for ourselves.

Rob Dietz is the editor of the Daly News and the former executive director of CASSE (Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy).
Dan O’Neill is a lecturer in ecological economics at the University of Leeds and the chief economist for CASSE.

Foreword by Herman Daly
Preface

Part I: Questions of Enough
Chapter 1 Have You Had Enough?
Chapter 2 Why Should Enough Be the Goal?
Chapter 3 How Much Is Enough?
Chapter 4 What Sort of Economy Provides Enough?

Part II: Strategies of Enough
Chapter 5 Enough Throughput: Limiting Resource Use and Waste Production
Chapter 6 Enough People: Stabilizing Population
Chapter 7 Enough Inequality: Distributing Income and Wealth
Chapter 8 Enough Debt: Reforming Monetary and Financial Systems
Chapter 9 Enough Miscalculation: Changing the Way We Measure Progress
Chapter 10 Enough Unemployment: Securing Meaningful Jobs
Chapter 11 Enough Business as Usual: Rethinking Commerce

Part III: Advancing the Economy of Enough
Chapter 12 Enough Materialism: Changing Consumer Behavior
Chapter 13 Enough Silence: Engaging Politicians and the Media
Chapter 14 Enough Unilateralism: Changing National Goals and Improving
International Cooperation
Chapter 15 Enough Waiting: Taking Action to Start the Transition
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Authors