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“Many who call themselves social democrats do exactly the opposite of their forebears: they sermonise the advantages of private enterprise, preach the importance of lowering taxes and getting markets working again so that GDP flourishes and state budgets can return to surplus for the sake of AAA credit ratings and the trickle-down enrichment of citizens.” This piece ends by envisioning a new economic system: “when people fight for just causes, the battles and wars they lose sometimes inspire others to carry on their fight, this time with new and improved means, under an entirely different name, in much-changed circumstances.”

Can Buddhist theology help save us from climate disaster? The Dalai Lama thinks so.

This is a summary of the results from a survey that asked Americans about their perceptions of climate change.

The polluter elite are extremely rich individuals whose net worth, luxury lifestyle and political influence all rest on wealth that is derived from investments in polluting activities e.g. fossil fuels. As decision makers they approve lobbying of governments (funding lobbyists and direct donations to political parties) to block the transition away from fossil fuels.

Oslo is still planning to go car-free by 2019, thanks to an ambitious network of bike lanes. But old habits do die hard.

In April 2018, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival released a Moral Agenda and Declaration of Fundamental Rights. The demands contained within that document present a comprehensive response to the systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and war economy plaguing our country today. For the 140 million people who are poor, or one emergency away from being poor, we know these demands are necessary. This Poor People’s Moral Budget asks, given the resources of our society, whether these demands are also possible. Our answer is a resounding yes.

So, is an economic system that distributes its benefits with this much inequality consistent with Americans’ common-sense views of economic justice? If not, would incremental changes be sufficient to bring it into alignment with the median American’s values? Or would more sweeping measures be required?

It’s great that philanthropists are pouring money into environmental causes. But it would be better for the planet if billionaires didn’t exist at all.

A growing body of research, though, points to some more unexpected reasons why a Green New Deal could make us more cheerful.

What can we do when confronted with planetary catastrophe? The answer is EVERYTHING. Wait, wait. This is not an overly optimistic “Change is easy and painless! We just all need to do X Y Z!” column. The news is grim, okay?

Our current economic system is broken because it is dominated by an ethic of hyper-individualism and profit maximization, which together represent an “exploiter mindset.”

The current economic system (the “old way”) responds to the common needs of humanity and the planet in ways that do not address the heart of problems and do not make life better for all. In a wellbeing economy (the “new way”), responses would be person-centred, positive and long-term. The exciting thing is–the new way is already emerging, with inspiring examples around the world showing us the way.

Decades of research into happiness and well-being have shown us that the key determinants of well-being are the quality of our relationships, mental and physical health, and our capacity to meet basic needs. Yet it is economic growth that nearly always takes policy precedence.

“We need to address the societal well-being of our nation, not just the economic well-being,” Jacinda Ardern told the World Economic Forum earlier this year. New Zealand’s prime minister said that to meet people’s real needs, politics would need to operate through a lens of “kindness, empathy and well-being.”

Meeting the challenges of the 21st century means ending the pursuit of perpetual growth, and building an economy that is regenerative, collaborative and purposeful.

Even as concerns about global warming grow, energy firms are planning to increase fossil-fuel production. None more than ExxonMobil.

The leaders of these sinking countries are fighting to stop climate change. Here's what the rest of the world can learn. Learn more about the story behind Time Magazine’s latest cover.

What happens when someone wants to go it alone on fixing the climate?

How we conventionally think about and measure inequality is misleading. Relative metrics are inappropriate when evaluating widespread wellbeing, and we should transition toward evaluating inequality on the basis of absolute metrics. When discussing inequality, most people think economists are talking about absolute inequality, but in reality they almost exclusively talk about relative inequality.

“These are people saying let’s make sure we have something left for future generations in the most beautiful swamp in the world,” Foytlin said. “And for that we were charged with felonies, we were beaten, we were stepped on, I was choked.”