{"id":1128,"date":"2025-10-02T04:02:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/the-plenitude-path-to-sustainability-isee-2010\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T04:02:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:02:51","slug":"the-plenitude-path-to-sustainability-isee-2010","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/blogs\/global-green-economics\/the-plenitude-path-to-sustainability-isee-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"The Plenitude Path To Sustainability Isee 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"content column wide left normal content view\" id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"rounded-corner\"><\/div>\n<article class=\"fader\">\n<div class=\"overlay\"><\/div>\n<header class=\"contents\">\n<h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Plenitude Path to Sustainability (ISEE 2010)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<div class=\"addthis\">\n\t<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style\" addthis:title=\"The Plenitude Path to Sustainability (ISEE 2010)\">\n<div class=\"notification\">\n<form method=\"post\" action=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\" style=\"display: inline;\">\n\t<button class=\"follow\" type=\"submit\" name=\"ActionAddToNotification\" title=\"Follow this blog\" id=\"author\"><\/button><br \/>\n\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"ContentNodeID\" value=\"4826\"\/><br \/>\n\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"UserRedirectURI\" value=\"\/Blogs\/Global-green-economics\"\/><br \/>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t<a class=\"addthis_button_facebook_like\" fb:like:layout=\"button_count\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<a class=\"addthis_button_tweet\" tw:via=\"thebrokeronline\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<a class=\"addthis_counter addthis_pill_style\"><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/js\/250\/addthis_widget.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- AddThis Button END -->\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<h3>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/schor-juliet\/\">Juliet Schor<\/a>\t\t|<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>22 August 2025<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"body contents\">\n<aside class=\"textblock\">\n<article>\n<h1>About the author<\/h1>\n<div class=\"tleft\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"tright\">\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/schor-juliet\/\">Juliet<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>Schor<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJuliet Schor is professor of sociology at Boston College and co-founder of the Center for a New A&#8230;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/schor-juliet\/\">full profile<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/article>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\t<!-- body --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Despite the lack of policy progress on climate change and ecosystem degradation there is no shortage of solutions currently on offer. While the specifics may differ, those getting most attention share one characteristic\u2014they focus on technological change. Whether it\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/cmi.princeton.edu\/wedges\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pacala et al\u2019s wedges<\/a>, Jeffrey Sachs\u2019 plan to reduce carbon emissions through plug in hybrids and carbon capture and storage, McKinsey\u2019s cost abatement curve approach, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article.cfm?id=a-path-to-sustainable-energy-by-2030\" target=\"_blank\">Jacobson and DeLucchi\u2019s <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article.cfm?id=a-path-to-sustainable-energy-by-2030\" id=\"__mce_tmp\" target=\"_blank\">100% renewables by 2030 plan<\/a>, the emphasis is on technology. Most conspicuously lack a number of obvious changes that would reduce emissions and footprint.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nIn <i>Plenitude: the new economics of true wealth<\/i>, I argue against the techno-fix<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\napproach. We also need deeper, systemic change that incorporates economic<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nstructures, the rate and pattern of growth, as well as alterations in cultural and<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nsocial norms. But even more importantly, a wider array of changes is also a<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\ndesiderata for a transition to a truly sustainable economy. That\u2019s because what was<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nefficient in an industrial economy is not what is efficient, optimal or profitable in an<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>ecologically-oriented economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nMainstream thinking on the shift to clean energy has a bias toward large-scale<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\ninstallations, such as nuclear power stations, big wind farms, concentrated solar,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nCCS and other capital intensive approaches which will be dominated by large energy<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nproviders. But is big and even bigger the right future as we transition out of the<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nindustrial era? There are good reasons to think small is finally becoming not only<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nbeautiful, but also efficient. The argument that the optimal scale of enterprise is<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nfalling relies in part on the role of information technology in undermining the need<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nfor the command and control functions of the modern corporation and making<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\npossible efficient, low-cost communication among distributed networks. Networks<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\ncan share certain functions, while competing on others. Indeed, the experience<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nof the US economy over the last few decades suggests that it\u2019s the small and<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>medium firms who have provided the bulk of innovation and employment growth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nThere are other reasons why leaving the sustainable future to large corporate<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nentities is problematic: their excessive political power makes them capable of<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nblocking needed policy reforms. Furthermore, resilience models suggest that<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nhighly centralized systems are vulnerable, a point hammered home by the<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nfinancial meltdown of 2008. With climatic uncertainties predicted to increase,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nand financial crises occurring regularly, a shift to smaller enterprises, operating<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>in a more de-centralized way is both prudent and likely to be more efficient.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nA second area is the nexus of output growth, productivity and hours of work. There<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nis now growing evidence that de-carbonization and de-materialization have been<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nlimited. Material flows per dollar of GDP have declined 1% a year for decades,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nhowever, increases in total production have lead to rising materials use. Since 1980,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\ntotal materials use (including fossil fuels) climbed 45%. GHG emissions have also<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\ncontinued to rise, with a sharp acceleration since 2000. We haven\u2019t yet cracked the<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nnut of translating efficiency gains into lower emissions, nor are we likely to without<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>addressing the rate of growth of output.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nOne approach, which is getting more attention in the last few years, is that the<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nwealthy countries of the global North should reduce their growth rates in order<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nto provide ecological space for the global South. But how to achieve such a feat?<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nAs I first argued in 1991 in World Development, and have elaborated in Plenitude,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nthe key is to reduce average hours of work. The economy will continue to produce<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nproductivity increases. If they are not absorbed by rising output, then equilibrium<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nneeds to be restored through declines in hours. Shorter hours are associated with<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>lower emissions and less ecological impact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nTaken together a decline in enterprise size and a reduction in average hours of<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nwork can facilitate the growth of a low-impact sector of self-providing households,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nself-employment and small-scale businesses and coops. That\u2019s because people<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nwill have more time away from their formal jobs and the competition from large<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nenterprises will abate. Fostering such a sector will help individuals build skills and<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nassets, reduce their personal footprints, and lay the groundwork for functioning<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nlocal and regional economies. The web and digital technologies are central to this<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nvision: because so much knowledge and skill can be readily transmitted digitally, it<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>is far more feasible to have high productivity household and small-scale production.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nIndeed, household production should no longer be seen as an antiquated pre-<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nindustrial paradigm. Rather, it\u2019s one of the new possibilities that are available to us<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nin the 21st century. In addition to its economic and ecological aspects, it can also be a<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>highly desirable lifestyle, allowing people more creativity, freedom and flexibility.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<!-- body -->\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"commentform content column wide left\">\n<div class=\"topright\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"bottomleft\"><\/div>\n<h1>Comments<\/h1>\n<div class=\"form\">\n\t<a id=\"formstart\"><\/a><\/p>\n<form enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" method=\"post\" action=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\">\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Your comment will not be automatically posted but first reviewed by the editor. If the editor has questions with respect to the content of your comment, you will be contacted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"input-row\">\n\t\t\t\t<label for=\"reaction-name\">Name:<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"input\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"reaction-name\" class=\"halfbox\" type=\"text\" name=\"Name\" value=\"\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"input-row\">\n\t\t\t\t<label for=\"reaction-subject\">Subject:<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"input\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"reaction-subject\" class=\"halfbox\" type=\"text\" maxlength=\"40\" name=\"Subject\" value=\"\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"input-row\">\n\t\t\t\t<label for=\"reaction-comment\">Message:<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"input\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<textarea id=\"reaction-comment\" class=\"halfbox\" name=\"Comment\"><\/textarea>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"submit-row\">\n\t\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\tvar RecaptchaTheme='white';\n\t\t\t\tvar RecaptchaLang='';\n\t\t\t\tvar RecaptchaOptions = {\n\t\t\t\ttheme: RecaptchaTheme,\n\t\t\t\tlang: RecaptchaLang\n\t\t\t\t};\n\t\t\t\t<\/script><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/challenge-k-6lfb9quaaaaaaepvwx5fiki25xfnxbh85tkko1-d.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n\t<noscript><br \/>\n  \t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/noscript_k-6lfb9quaaaaaaepvwx5fiki25xfnxbh85tkko1-d_ext_iframe\/\" height=\"300\" width=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\n  \t\t<textarea name=\"recaptcha_challenge_field\" rows=\"3\" cols=\"40\"><\/textarea><br \/>\n  \t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"recaptcha_response_field\" value=\"manual_challenge\"\/><br \/>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"submit-row\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"grey\" type=\"submit\"><span class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Submit<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" value=\"5486\" name=\"NodeID\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" value=\"\/Blogs\/Global-green-economics\/The-Plenitude-Path-to-Sustainability-ISEE-2010\" name=\"RedirectURL\"\/><br \/>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"subitem content column wide left\">\n<article class=\"comment\">\n<div class=\"topright\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"bottomleft\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"comment\">\n<div class=\"icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/extension\/broker\/design\/broker\/images\/comment\/icon.gif\">\n\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<h3><a id=\"comment_5501\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\">The plenitude path -comments on perspectives<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>HI there Julia, <br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nI am one of those who heard your talk at the SIEE and thank you for a good input. <br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nHowever what came to my mind when sitting in the hall is my experience from travelling in Romania in 2003. Living with families of 4 where all have 50% positions out of home, a cowshed for 2, 10 hens, a vegetable garden with 30 different species and a field nearby where each member of society had his own piece of wheat and potatoe cultivation looked to me to be just right. For the Romainians this was all the same hard work and no means to leave or do something different. I realise that their low wages made them dependent on the vegetable garden. It did not come out of fun but neccessity, and the home knitted wollens and fabrics used to make their own clothes were seemingly not a very eco-efficient way of living. I do agree that for myself at 52, life of this kind would be ideal, but I am not sure that the people in transition economies would agree. I wonder how well our closest resources would provide for such lifestyle but in my mind your talk was about plentitude. I wish youngsters also think so that have not reach our level of being rich and healty and having had the opportunity of a good education and freedom of choice.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"tagline\">\nMaria Maack  |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>August 26, 2025<\/strong> |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\">Respond<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Plenitude Path to Sustainability (ISEE 2010) Juliet Schor [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template_4.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1128","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Plenitude Path to Sustainability (ISEE 2010) \/ Global green economics \/ Blogs - The Broker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite the lack of policy progress on climate change and ecosystem degradation there is no shortage of solutions currently on offer. While the specifics may differ, those getting most attention share one characteristic\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthey focus on technological change. Whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pacala et al\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedges, Jeffrey Sachs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plan to reduce carbon emissions through plug in hybrids and carbon capture and storage, McKinsey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cost abatement curve approach, or Jacobson and DeLucchi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 100% renewables by 2030 plan, the...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/blogs\/global-green-economics\/the-plenitude-path-to-sustainability-isee-2010\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Plenitude Path to Sustainability (ISEE 2010) \/ Global green economics \/ Blogs - The Broker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite the lack of policy progress on climate change and ecosystem degradation there is no shortage of solutions currently on offer. While the specifics may differ, those getting most attention share one characteristic\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthey focus on technological change. Whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pacala et al\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedges, Jeffrey Sachs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plan to reduce carbon emissions through plug in hybrids and carbon capture and storage, McKinsey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cost abatement curve approach, or Jacobson and DeLucchi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 100% renewables by 2030 plan, the...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/blogs\/global-green-economics\/the-plenitude-path-to-sustainability-isee-2010\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Homepage - Broker Online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Plenitude Path to Sustainability (ISEE 2010) \/ Global green economics \/ Blogs - The Broker","description":"Despite the lack of policy progress on climate change and ecosystem degradation there is no shortage of solutions currently on offer. While the specifics may differ, those getting most attention share one characteristic\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthey focus on technological change. Whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pacala et al\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedges, Jeffrey Sachs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plan to reduce carbon emissions through plug in hybrids and carbon capture and storage, McKinsey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cost abatement curve approach, or Jacobson and DeLucchi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 100% renewables by 2030 plan, the...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/blogs\/global-green-economics\/the-plenitude-path-to-sustainability-isee-2010\/","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Plenitude Path to Sustainability (ISEE 2010) \/ Global green economics \/ Blogs - The Broker","og_description":"Despite the lack of policy progress on climate change and ecosystem degradation there is no shortage of solutions currently on offer. While the specifics may differ, those getting most attention share one characteristic\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthey focus on technological change. Whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pacala et al\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wedges, Jeffrey Sachs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plan to reduce carbon emissions through plug in hybrids and carbon capture and storage, McKinsey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cost abatement curve approach, or Jacobson and DeLucchi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 100% renewables by 2030 plan, the...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/blogs\/global-green-economics\/the-plenitude-path-to-sustainability-isee-2010\/","og_site_name":"Homepage - Broker Online","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}