Sustaining Society with Ecological Capitalism

Abstract

The paper explains how to achieve a universally prosperous environmentally sustainable global society. This objective is incompatible with traditional economic policies dependent of full employment and ideologies based on uninhibited use of non-renewable resources. Politically attractive incentives of smaller taxes are identified as a way of introducing ecological forms of property rights to realty, firms and money. The dynamic time limited nature of ecological ownership and control changes the way an economy operates so that prosperity can be increased even with a declining and aging population. Crucially, it allows localisation in the ownership and control of the means of production and exchange with voters while also creating a universal minimum social dividend. This allows policies of full employment to be replaced with policies of fulfilment in employment and/or leisure while reducing the need for welfare, pensions, and big government. Local democracy is enriched with the power to nurture their host environment. The introduction of ecological forms of cost carrying money redeemable into local services of nature allows market forces to encourage production techniques that reduce their environmental impact. Increased life expectancy with depopulation is already occurring in twenty countries and this is expected to spread globally in the current century. This phenomenon with current environmental pressures create an imperative for introducing ecological capitalism sooner rather than later.

Keywords: Ecological capitalism, Energy dollars, Network governance, Self-financing communities, Social dividend, Stakeholder society

JEL Classification: D31, D63, E42, G32, P16, R12