N.B. This article was first published under the title of ‘A Note of Warning to Rachel Reeves and her Grow Baby Grow: A la Liz la-la-land Growth is a Path to Nowhere!’ on 15 March 2025. It was then updated with this new title on 3 May 2025 after the local elections on 1 May 2025
Gimmick Economics humiliated the Tories and brought about Brexit.
Gimmick Economics humiliated and demolished the Trump-lite Democrats.
Be Warned Labour! You too, will face the same if you remain Farage-lite.
A Local Election Victory, a protest vote, based on anger, disenchantment, frustration, hopelessness, disaffection, and a profound sense of injustice in the government's economic policy.
Labour must find its soul, heart and spirit again by taking action in the interest of the common good, to discover what it means to be human. Carpe diem
Pensioners and campaigners demonstrate outside parliament in October last year.
Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/The Guardian
The Local Elections Results and the shaming of the main political parties are the manifestation of a broken economic model, broken promises and broken trust; about failing public services and rising household bills. It is about loss of values, the privatisation of humanity, kindness, compassion and dignity. It is about the rise of arrogance and self-pompesity, indifference, greed and corruption. This was exactly the same when the same voters vented their anger and voted for Brexit, lest we forget.
A timeless reminder to the Labour Party that once upon a time believed in these values too:
"Today’s huge controversy which surrounds much of the economic activity and the business world is because they do not adequately and appropriately address the needs of the global collective and the powerless, marginalized, and excluded. This, surely, in the interest of all, has to change...a revolution in values is needed, which demands that economics and business must embrace both material and spiritual values.”- Kamran Mofid
A Must-read for the Labour Party:
Economics and What it Means to Be Human
‘Local elections traditionally act as an unofficial referendum on national politics – a rare chance for voters in Wirral to “send a message” to Westminster. As the one-year anniversary of Labour’s landslide on the promise of “change” approaches, it is not hard to see that the conditions are ripe for cynicism, anger and protest. More and more people – already reeling from a decade that gave us austerity, Brexit and Partygate – are becoming deeply disillusioned not only about the state of Britain but about politics as a means to improve it. If you have no hope of getting on the housing ladder, your wages don’t cover the weekly shop or you live in pain but can’t even get a GP appointment, the lure of rightwing populism’s simple answers to complex problems is almost rational.’-Frances Ryan, The Guardian 5 May 2025
Photo Credit: Oli Scarff, AFP
The 2025 Local Elections was not about putting the immigrants in the tents or sending them back to the Channel. No, no. The great majority of the British people are far more caring, thoughtful and kind than that. The elections were all a crying out for decency and honesty in economics and politics. Anger at the current system and government was then translated into a vote for Nigel. The man who complains best and never discusses any solutions and blames it all on those who are not like him, fanning the flames of hatred and Ultra-pseudo-nationalism. Lest we forget.
As the wipeout of the rightwing populist in the recent general elections in Canada and Australia have clearly shown, out-Trumping is not the solution to the problems we all face.
Now, here in the UK, we, too, have discovered the same truth: ‘The local elections wipeout proves that out-Reforming Reform cannot and does not work.’
Nigel Farage's Reform Party rise shows why Labour must get serious about inequality, redistribution, indifference to the plight and struggles of the weak and vulnerable, and the catastrophic decline in public services, to name but a few. It must regain the trust of the voters. It must adhere to the core values of the majority of the British people, kindness, empathy, sympathy, compassion, and a sense of care for others. The nation wants the Labour Party to act in the interest of the greater good and not for the greedy, self-interested lobbyists, exerting undemocratic influence on policy-making for their own good.
Labour must also stop the blame game, hysterically blaming everything on the immigrants and asylum seekers. Instead Labour must focus on the positive aspect of immigration and in association with other European countries introduce a path/a system of legal immigration to address the needs of this country, whilst at the same time championing and facilitating a massive investment in asylum-seekers native lands in order to create hope and employment for people to live with dignity and thus, no need to escape and run away to here.
Labour must become more respectful of history and truthfulness. The true story must be told: First and foremost, the immigrants and the asylum seekers did not cause colonisation, imperialism and did not exploit and plunder their homelands. They even did not start slavery and did not enslave themselves to enrich themselves. They did not bomb and occupy their own countries, doing regime change, and other fancy works that others are so good at.
The immigrants and the asylum seekers are not the architects of the decline of Britain, the rise of anger, frustration, and hopelessness. They are not running the economy. They are not championing neoliberalism. They did not cause the 2008 financial crash. They did not cause the Grenfell Tower disaster. They did not privatise and deregulate the water industries and other disgusting socioeconomic disasters that have broken the fabric of society and more. They are not the reason for the huge rises in food banks and soup kitchens. They did not remove the fuel payments to the senior citizens or the cuts to disability payments and suchlike. They were not the architects of selling all our national assets to foreigners, the so-called super-duper rich asylum seekers! They are not the reason that not enough affordable housing is built in this country. They are not the reason for so many potholes on the roads,..., and they are not the reason for the epidemic rise in mental, physical and emotional illness in recent years.
UK among lowest-ranked countries for ‘human flourishing’ in wellbeing study
Neoliberal Economics: A house of ill repute, Built on a shifting sand.
These are what I have learned from 45 years of teaching economics (Rachel Reeves should read this URGENTLY if she wants to stay in power for longer!)
Is Labour ready to listen and learn? Time will tell. In the interest of our country, I hope they will. I recall sharing the same thoughts with Teresa May, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss. They totally ignored it, and we all know what happened to them all, leaving office in disgrace and humiliation. I do not wish to have the last laugh with Keir Stammer too!
Prime Minister May- Britain needs a New Economic Model
Boris Johnson: This is How to Become a Force for Good
My Plea to Liz Truss: Our Country Needs Caring, Healing and Transformation
Here, I have tried to show them how they may take action in the interest of the common good:
Why should the voters vote for a lite- no- good- doer populist party when they can vote for the real thing?
Labour Must Become a Different Storyteller and not repeat the ‘Gimmick Economics’. A new story must all be about economics of kindness, hope and values. It must be all centered around people and what it means to be human.
Make Economics ‘Kind’ and Build a Better World
Make Economics ‘A Thing of Beauty’ and Build a Better World
Make Economics 'People's Economics' and Build a Better World
My Economics and Business Educators’ Oath: My Promise to My Students
What might an Economy for the Common Good look like?
And Now Welcome to the circus that is ‘Gimmick Economics’
Photo credit: via The Economist
The UK economy needs a comprehensive, focused and meaningful vision to move forward, not a misguided populist, ‘Gimmick Economics’, the policies and the vision that ushered in Brexit and has now given rise to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.
If the Labour Party is not, but a moral crusade, then it becomes nothing. If the Labour Party becomes nothing but a Reform-Lite Party, then, it becomes irrelevant and a deleted party. Lest they forget!
Why should the voters vote for a lite- no- good- doer when they can vote for the real thing?
Labour’s Cruel Economics and the Local Elections 2025
Labour hurting people and people humiliating Labour
Good on you people
Economics 101: Labour show humility, repent and reverse your cruel economic policy
‘Believe me, Nigel Farage is counting on you to fail. He is counting on you to break all your given promises to the British people, by trashing all your values. He humiliated and defeated the Tories at the Brexit Referendum and he is now hoping to do the same to you. Please don’t let us down!
‘My calling to you is in the interest of our country. In my mind, what you are doing in the name of maximising growth, which I call the mad rush to madness, is going to be very costly and tragic to our country. It must not be forgotten that people voted for you in the hope that you will turn the country for the better, kinder and fairer, after 14 years of cruelty and injustice under the Tories. But you are not any different to them. Indeed, you are far worse than them, when it comes to how best to be cruel!!
See what you have done to the senior citizens’ winter heating allowance, you cancelled their payments, at the time of the highest energy costs. This wanton act of cruelty was followed by what you did to the women who had lost pension payments (Waspi Women). Then, becoming even more cruel, you cut overseas aid and completed your circus of inhumanity by an aggressive and humiliating attack on one of the most vulnerable groups of your fellow-citizens, the disabled and chronically sick individuals, cutting their benefit payments and more…’-Excerpts from an article which I had written on 15 March 2025, see below.
Thus, instead of cruelty to the weak and disabled, rise with a truly Labour-inspired Moral Crusade and as a starter, tax the CEOs of the Water Industry and nationalise them all. They have done nothing but throw poo at us all and in the process have obnoxiously enriched themselves! Is this too much to ask from a Labour government?
The Day of Infamy: The Day They Privatised Water
Neoliberal Economics: A house of ill repute, Built on a shifting sand
Make Economics ‘Kind’ and Build a Better World
Make Economics 'People's Economics' and Build a Better World
Harold Wilson’s moral crusade can still be a rallying call for Labour
This is why a disillusioned, alienated, unequal, angry voters in Britain have flocked to populism and Farage
Illustration by Beppe Conti via POLITICO
The Local Elections Results and the shaming of the main political parties are the manifestation of a broken economic model, broken promises and broken trust; about failing public services and rising household bills. It is about loss of values, the privatisation of humanity, kindness, compassion and dignity. It is about the rise of arrogance and self-pompesity, indifference, greed and corruption. This was exactly the same when the same voters vented their anger and voted for Brexit, lest we forget.
N.B. To understand and appreciate this blog, we should first define ‘Gimmick Economics’:
Gimmick economics refers to economic policies or strategies that are superficially appealing or attention-grabbing but lack sound economic principles or long-term viability. These "gimmicks" often aim for short-term gains or to create the illusion of economic progress without addressing fundamental issues.
Here's a breakdown of the key aspects of gimmick economics:
Characteristics:
- Short-term focus: Gimmicks prioritize immediate, visible effects over sustainable, long-term growth.
- Superficial appeal: They often rely on catchy slogans, novel ideas, or temporary measures that capture public attention.
- Lack of fundamental change: Gimmick economics typically avoids addressing deep-rooted structural problems within the economy.
- Potential for unintended consequences: Due to their lack of thorough economic analysis, gimmicks can lead to negative and unforeseen outcomes.
- Unsustainable: The positive effects of gimmick economics are usually temporary and cannot be maintained over time.
- May involve accounting tricks: Some gimmicks manipulate budget calculations or economic projections to create a false sense of improvement. (The New Gimmick Economy is a term coined by Eric Weinstein in his 2016 Edge essay Anthropic Capitalism and the New Gimmick Economy.)
Does all the above sound familiar? I am sure it does: It defines the Labour Government today.
Nigel Farage Wins the 2025 Local Elections
‘The charge that Labour promised change but is delivering more of the same speaks to anxious and angry voters across the political spectrum.’
A barometer of disillusionment
Labour alienated its core and failed to attract Reform voters.
Reform party leader Nigel Farage and candidate Sarah Pochin react as the party wins the Runcorn and Helsby by-election results at
Halton Stadium in Widnes, Britain, May 2, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
I am heartbroken that I am writing all these about the Labour Party, the party that I used to love and admire. I am equally heartbroken that the progressive observers’ forecast that this heartless and valueless Labour government is pushing Britain to the bosoms of populism and Nigel Farage has now been so plainly proven correct. This is nothing but shameful. After 14 years of hopelessness, hurt, pain and abuse under the Tories, Labour maximised cruelty and austerity, destroying hope and pushed the nation to the edge of abyss. Shameful.
The dodgy ‘leftists’ in the US nurtured and nourished the rise of Trump and Trumpism and now the dodgy, Reform-lite Labour has given the nation on a silver plate to Nigel Frage. Shameful.
See below to discover more on how this has all come about, what it means and what it may entail.
Reform’s success shows how little Labour has offered voters
The Day of Infamy: The Day They Privatised Water
Labour’s #1 to do list: Remove the curse of inhumanity and heist
Water is Life: Water for Public Good, not for greed, abuse and profits for the shareholders!
Water is the Celebration of Life, Love, Beauty, and the Common Good
Fixing England’s water isn’t just the right thing to do – it can be the start of Labour’s fightback
Economic Growth (The Index of Misery):
The Curse of 'Voodoo economics' and the 'mumbo-jumbo economic growth'
Photo Credit: Nebula TV/ via Youtube
Starmer wants the economy to grow, baby, grow. Woe betide the ‘blockers’ who get in his way
Rachel Reeves and her Pursuit of Mystical Economic Growth
Voodoo economics is bad enough, but this voodoo economic growth…
Rachel Reeves giving her speech on economic growrh. Photo: Peter Cziborra/via The Guardian
A short and concise history of a controversial idea
"Economic growth is the number one mission of this government"- Rachel Reeves
But, dear Chancellor,
What's the Narrative, What's the Philosophy, and what's the Story?
Growth for What and Growth for What Purpose?
‘Society is about human flourishing, not just economic growth.’
For Britain the Better we must have a different story and a more compassionate storytellers, not just some new number crunchers.
When politicians tell us to focus on growth we need to ask: ‘Why, and for whom?’
Economic growth for its own sake is ruining Britain
Dear Chancellor, lest you have forgotten
Britain’s broken economy: ‘That’s your bloody GDP, not ours’
The continuing frustration of the British people with voodoo economics of ‘markets knows best’ which has resulted in ‘Private Affluence and Public Squalor’ was once so beautifully summerised by a Newcastle woman’s tart response to the political scientist Anand Menon in 2016 when he warned that Brexit would hit GDP: “That’s your bloody GDP, not ours.” I have listened to you praising your ‘growth’ strategy and the wonders that it will produce. I have read your words about it in the newspapers, and I have seen you on TV. But to my profound dismay, you have never engaged with us, the people, on the following questions and more:
How Much Is Enough? What is money and wealth for? Why do we as individuals and societies go on wanting and yearning for more? What is economic growth for? Can we/ should we carry on just growing, creating, producing, consuming,…,more and more, for ever more? Do we need to satisfy our wants or look after our needs? Should we be a “maximiser” or “satisfier” and choose the path of “enoughness”? Then, what is a good life? What are the main ingredients of a good, happy and peaceful life? Should we move away from Gross National Product (GDP) to Gross National Happiness?
In short, is the incessant quest for higher incomes, more and more profits at any cost, and faster growth robbing us of the good life rather than helping us to attain it? And, in the end, what adjustments in our moral and economic system would be needed to realise change?
Given the above, then, how can we trust you? How can we be reassured that you really know what you are talking about, or what you are doing?
ALL IN ALL, The model of more is failing both environmentally and socially, and practically everyone is still cheering it on… it almost makes you want to climb to the top of the highest building and shout, “ENOUGH!”
The Good Enough Life and the Virtue of Enoughness
Dear Chancellor,
Let us be frank and honest. First and foremost, right at the beginning, we must know: What is the spirit, ethics, philosophy, ideological and moral compass beyond your vague pursuit of “growth”. Whose growth are we talking about? Who are the winners and who are the losers? Is this so-called ‘growth’“ to serve people, or is it ultimately as many times before, just for profit, shareholders, CEOs, their returns and bonuses? Labour must never forget its pledge to the British people to rebuild trust in politics!
Your colleague, Clive Lewis MP, says it beautifully: ‘Reeves once championed the foundation economy – lifelong learning, public services, local industries and wealth redistribution. Whatever happened to that vision? Instead of pinning hopes on trickle-down promises from Heathrow and hedge funds, Labour should be levelling up wealth, not just GDP statistics.’
Lest we forget, when we talk about growth and more growth, haven't we heard all this folly before from another woman who lasted less than a lettuce?
Dear Chancellor: Was one Growth Crusader not Enough and are you also planning to crash the house of cards?
The Fall and Humiliation of Liz Truss should Herald a New Beginning
The Fallacy and the Myth of the Endless Economic Growth: Much Ado About Nothing!
The Time is Now to Bust and De-bunk the Myth that Perpetual Economic Growth is the Answer to all our Misery and Failure
‘Society is about human flourishing, not just economic growth.’
Growth for What and Growth for What Purpose.
In this age of crisis after crises, unfulfilled promises, the so-called ‘Age of Irresponsibility’, it seems right and appropriate to question the fallacy and the myth of endless growth.
‘Prioritizing growth is ultimately a losing game.’
Endless ‘growth’ is nothing but a game in the discredited global casino capitalism!
‘Growth is the be-all and end-all of mainstream economic and political thinking. Without a continually rising G.D.P., we’re told, we risk social instability, declining standards of living and pretty much any hope of progress. But what about the counterintuitive possibility that our current pursuit of growth, rabid as it is and causing such great ecological harm, might be incurring more costs than gains?’-This Pioneering Economist Says Our Obsession With Growth Must End, Herman Daly in conversation with David Marchese, The New York Times Magazine, 17 July, 2022.
On the Cliff Edge: The Endless Economic Growth- The Suicidal Heart of Neoliberal Economics
“We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”-Greta Thunberg
‘Anyone who thinks that economic growth can continue for ever on a finite planet is either a madman or an economist.’- Kenneth Boulding
Dear Chancellor,
Believe me, I cannot believe it myself, that I am writing this, but it must be said. Alongside millions of voters, I, too, wanted to believe that, after 14 years of misrule, environmental vandalism, huge increases in poverty, injustice and more, it might have seemed inconceivable for the Labour Party not to tell us a new, and truthful story and encourage us to believe again that a better future is possible. Sadly this has not happened and we are not hearing the new story we were promised. Dreams and hopes are being shattered again. To say this breaks my heart.
I am now very concerned, extremely worried about our country. Things are going pear-shaped again. Hence, my wish to engage with you, our honourable chancellor.
Dear Chancellor,
So far we have only seen growth in violence, knife crimes, shoplifting, obnoxious riches for the few, poverty, misery, and marginalisation for the many, gambling addiction, prison population, the A&E queues and hospital waiting times, mental and physical illness, environmental degradation, and the sewage discharges by the privatised water companies, accompanied by the growth in ‘juicy’ bonuses for their CEOs and shareholders, plus hefty increases in water bills and payments, to name but a few. Moreover, what kind of ‘growth’ is this, when you approve building many new, fancy prisons, but cancel the building of new hospitals that were promised to the nation already.
I am sure these are not the ‘Growths’ you have been thinking and dreaming about during all those painful years in opposition, wondering and planning for ‘change and growth’, your ‘number one mission’!
Lest we forget: Growth or no growth- "Injustice flourishes in soil where empathy has been uprooted.”
Record 4.5m children in poverty in UK as cuts condemned as ‘morally repugnant’
Illustration: Ben Jennings/The Guardian
Dear Chancellor,
I am a retired academic, having taught economics for decades.I have never had any agenda, except, seeking the truth and taking action in the interest of the common good.
If I may, I wish to warn you about your number one vision, your growth plans. Believe me, your agenda is nothing but an index of misery, for yourself, as you will fail like those before you and more importantly, you will fail us, as we have been failed by others like you many times before. This is why, I am most humbly asking you to think again and change direction in the interest of the common good, whilst you can.
My calling to you is in the interest of our country. In my mind, what you are doing in the name of maximising growth, which I call the mad rush to madness, is going to be very costly and tragic to our country. It must not be forgotten that people voted for you in the hope that you will turn the country for the better, kinder and fairer, after 14 years of cruelty and injustice under the Tories. But you are not any different to them. Indeed, you are far worse than them, when it comes how best to be cruel!!
See what you have done to the senior citizens’ winter heating allowance, you cancelled their payments, at the time of the highest energy costs. This wanton act of cruelty was followed by what you did to the women who had lost pension payments (Waspi Women). Then, becoming even more cruel, you cut overseas aid and completed your circus of inhumanity by an aggressive and humiliating attack on one of the most vulnerable groups of your fellow-citizens, the disabled and chronically sick individuals, cutting their benefit payments and more.
And yes, the chickens will come home to roost, the dismal reality of your unjust and inhumane ‘Grow Baby Grow’ will be out there for all to see:
All UK families ‘to be worse off by 2030’ as poor bear the brunt, new data warns
And Yes dear Chancellor, ‘Labour needs to rediscover its moral backbone, fast.’
The Observer view on the spring statement: cutting spending is not the only option, chancellor
'Neoliberalism destroys democratic hope and the far right fills the political void. We need a new politics of belonging, not Labour’s craven appeasement of capital'
How has fascism in Britain got this far? Neoliberalism has opened the door for it
Dear Chancellor, believe me, Nigel Farage is counting on you to fail. He is counting on you to break all your given promises to the British people, by trashing all your values. He humiliated and defeated the Tories at the Brexit Referendum and he is now hoping to do the same to you. Please don’t let us down!
Party central: inside the Mayfair club where Reform plotted to take on ‘the establishment’
Reform UK can win scores of Labour seats in England and Wales, says study
“I would like to see a British version of Trump”; “I could sit here and have a conversation with him and listen to him and believe him. Whereas our politicians, I don’t trust them one bit.”
Think Trumpism couldn’t take root and flourish in Britain? Think again
You know, people are not dumb anymore. Tories failed them. You are failing them. Just like the Democrats who failed the people of America and paved the way for the rise of populism and Trump, you too, are now paving the way for Nigel Farage to become our next prime minister. This is unforgivable.
Given the above, now please watch this video to see very clearly how the false and cheating Democrats in the US, so tragically paved the path to the rise of populism and Trump. It would be tragic if the Labour Party does the same for Farage.
Democracy doesn’t exist in the United States: Chris Hedges
‘Economic growth is supposed to deliver prosperity. Higher incomes should mean better choices, richer lives, and an improved quality of life for us all. That at least is the conventional wisdom. But things haven’t always turned out that way.’
Dear Chancellor, in the wise words of Tim Jackson, Economics Commissioner, Sustainable Development Commission, writing in March 2009, I wish to remind you that:
‘Every society clings to a myth by which it lives. Ours is the myth of economic growth…The myth of growth has failed us. It has failed the two billion people who still live on less than $2 a day. It has failed the fragile ecological systems on which we depend for survival. It has failed, spectacularly, in its own terms, to provide economic stability and secure people’s livelihoods…Prosperity for the few founded on ecological destruction and persistent social injustice is no foundation for a civilised society. Economic recovery is vital. Protecting people’s jobs – and creating new ones – is absolutely essential. But we also stand in urgent need of a renewed sense of shared prosperity. A commitment to fairness and flourishing in a finite world…For at the end of the day, prosperity goes beyond material pleasures. It transcends material concerns. It resides in the quality of our lives and in the health and happiness of our families. It is present in the strength of our relationships and our trust in the community. It is evidenced by our satisfaction at work and our sense of shared meaning and purpose. It hangs on our potential to participate fully in the life of society… Prosperity consists in our ability to flourish as human beings – within the ecological limits of a finite planet. The challenge for our society is to create the conditions under which this is possible. It is the most urgent task of our times.’- Prosperity without growth? The transition to a sustainable economy
Before I proceed further, when it comes to your obsession with economic growth, I wish to draw your attention to some timeless words of wisdom:
“…We will find neither national purpose nor personal satisfaction in a mere continuation of economic progress, in an endless amassing of worldly goods. We cannot measure national spirit by the Dow Jones Average, nor national achievement by the Gross National Product. For the Gross National Product includes air pollution, and ambulances to clear our highways from carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and jails for the people who break them. The Gross National Product includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and missiles and nuclear warheads…. It includes… the broadcasting of television programs which glorify violence to sell goods to our children.
“And if the Gross National Product includes all this, there is much that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does not include the beauty of our poetry, or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials… the Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile….”-The Fallacy of Economic Growth: In Praise of Robert F. Kennedy
‘What economists around the world get wrong about the future.
The idea that economic growth can continue forever on a finite planet is the unifying faith of industrial civilization. That it is nonsensical in the extreme, a deluded fantasy, doesn’t appear to bother us. We hear the holy truth in the decrees of elected officials, in the laments of economists about flagging GDP, in the authoritative pages of opinion, in the whirligig of advertising, at the World Bank and on Wall Street, in the prospectuses of globe-spanning corporations and in the halls of the smallest small-town chambers of commerce. Growth is sacrosanct. Growth will bring jobs and income, which allow us entry into the state of grace known as affluence, which permits us to consume more, providing more jobs for more people producing more goods and services so that the all-mighty economy can continue to grow. “Growth is our idol, our golden calf,” Herman Daly, an economist known for his anti-growth heresies, told me recently…’-The Fallacy of Endless Economic Growth
The Case for Degrowth: It is urgent, necessary, and greatly needed for our survival
Post-growth: the science of wellbeing within planetary boundaries
And lest we forget, this mad rush for growth is indeed a very old and discredited story which has been tried many times before. It was called ‘trickle-down economics’, and we learned a long time ago that it is a myth, a biggest lie.
Moreover, this rush for ‘growth’ was rigorously pursued as recently as by Joe Biden's administration.
‘Joe Biden’s Democrats achieved GDP growth but still struggled against Trump’s populism. Why? Because growth, when concentrated in the hands of the few, does not translate into security or prosperity for the many. Starmer understood this implicitly when he stated back in 2022 that trickle-down economics “is a piss take”.
'Reeves once championed the foundation economy – lifelong learning, public services, local industries and wealth redistribution. Whatever happened to that vision? Instead of pinning hopes on trickle-down promises from Heathrow and hedge funds, Labour should be levelling up wealth, not just GDP statistics.’- Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South
The Curse and the Folly and the Lies of Growth that is not going Anywhere
The World’s Mad Obsession With Unlimited Economic Growth
The madness of the never ending economic growth
We have to look beyond the madness: we should invest in everyday services to create a society run for collective good
The Growth Delusion and Confusion, The GDP Measurement: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
Economic Growth: The Index of Misery
Economic growth: a short history of a controversial idea
The Fallacy of Economic Growth: In Praise of Robert F. Kennedy
The Fallacy of Economic Growth: In Praise of Herman Daly
The Fallacy of Economic Growth: In Praise of Vandana Shiva
People’s Tragedy: Neoliberal Legacy of Thatcher and Reagan
The Destruction of our World and the lies of Milton Friedman
These are what I have learned from 45 years of teaching economics
Labour’s plan for ‘growth’ won’t take off, but it will leave ordinary people behind
Look at Labour’s acts of environmental vandalism and ask: did I vote for this?
‘The UK must move away from a debt-driven, low-wage, financialised economic model. Public investment in infrastructure – especially in underserved regions – and in skills and industry is needed to stimulate demand and create high-quality jobs. Raising wages and reducing inequality will ensure broad-based prosperity, not just asset bubbles. The belief that “markets know best” has prevented bold action on Britain’s yawning economic divides and the climate emergency. After 40 years of weakening the state and rewarding rentier capitalism, reform is urgent. Labour must build a system that delivers it.’-‘That’s your bloody GDP, not ours’
Dear Chancellor,
To my mind, survival will mean an urgent transformation of the ways we think, organise, produce and consume. That means a society that knows when to slow down and stop its relentless expansion of production and consumption, a society that knows the difference between plunder and endless extraction of natural resources or being their custodians. A society that knows the difference between justice, fairness, kindness and injustice and cruelty. A society that knows what it means to be human, a society that knows it is a privilege to look after the sick, weak, and the vulenarble. A society that does not dance to the tunes of the rich, the barons, the lobbyists and suchlike.
And thus, in place of economic growth it would value sufficiency, sustainability, fairness, justice, kindness, and beauty, where prosperity, health and wellbeing can be enjoyed by all.
Dear Chancellor,
Having said all these, I sincerely wish you success. Our country cannot afford another failure, another dishonesty and crash.
However, as a valued-led and spiritual economist, I am worried that, given your economic education, you may not have the true vision needed to turn our country around and make it better.
You know, I am so worried, when I discovered that similar to our recent past leaders, who went on and destroyed everything good in our country, you, too, received, to my mind, a questionable economic education.
They, like you, got their training studying PPE at Oxford. You also carried on to LSE, where the late Queen Elizabeth once asked its luminaries where they were, not seeing the coming of the 2008 financial crisis!!
What are the benefits of the supposedly prestigious, high-value, inspiring teaching and learning environment when they keep churning up people with questionable values, characters with no vision, low moral compass and no work ethics?
Do you remember these guys, the architects of destruction, pain, and misery?
Do you remember these guys, the architects of destruction, pain, and misery?
Composite: India Today
So, dear Chancellor,
I hope you have got the gist of my message. Hoping for your success, the time is now to relearn your economics. To assist you in this noble exercise, I just you to have a read of these pieces, which I firmly believe will prove life changing for the better:
The Theft of the Century by the Most 'Educated Thieves'- All with MBAs and PhDs!
Nothing short of a sea change in education and teaching values can save the world
Wisdom and the Well-Rounded Life: What Is a University?
Britain Has Become a Sinking Ship of Systemic Corruption, Cronyism and Chumocracy
REMAKING ECONOMICS
Neoliberal Economics: A house of ill repute, Built on a shifting sand.
These are what I have learned from 45 years of teaching economics
Make Economics ‘Kind’ and Build a Better World
Make Economics 'People's Economics' and Build a Better World
Make Economics ‘A Thing of Beauty’ and Build a Better World
Small is Beautiful: The Wisdom of E.F. Schumacher
Finally, dear Chancellor, I hope that, having read the above, you will be so inspired that you will begging to reimagine a different world:
“Before we can build the world we want to live in, we have to imagine it.”
Can we forge a society built on shared values, one that respects difference? Can we build a State that cares, not purely in a macroeconomic context, but at a personal and individual one? Can we find space for kindness against a backdrop of complexity and cost, where we have allowed compassion to be viewed as a luxury for the charitable rich? Can we nudge people to behave altruistically? Can we build a view of society that is built not from the extremes, not from saints and sinners, but through the everyday kindness of action, by state, by organisation, by individual? Can greed be transformed into generosity, selfishness to selflessness, hatred to kindness,...,? Can we alter policies and practices to make the world a kinder place?
Moreover, can we come together and in the interest of the common good, begin to imagine a different world, a kinder world?
Imagining the World We Want
Imagine a political system that puts the public first. Imagine the economy and markets serving people rather than the other way round. Imagine us placing values of kindness, respect, fairness, interdependence, and mutuality at the heart of our economy. Imagine an economy that gives everyone their fair share, at least an appropriate living wage, and no zero-hour contracts. Imagine where jobs are accessible and fulfilling, producing useful things rather than games of speculation and casino capitalism. Imagine where wages support lives rather than an ever expanding chasm between the top 1% and the rest. Imagine a society capable of supporting everyone’s needs, and which says no to greed. Imagine unrestricted access to an excellent education, healthcare, housing and social services. Imagine hunger being eliminated, no more food banks and soup kitchens. Imagine each person having a place he/she can call home. Imagine all senior citizens living a dignified and secure life. Imagine all the youth leading their lives with ever-present hope for a better world. Imagine a planet protected from the threat of climate change now and for the generations to come. Imagine no more wars, but dialogue, conversation and non-violent resolution of conflicts. Imagine a world free of corruption!
This is the country and the world I wish to see and I believe we have the means to build it, if we take action in the interest of kindness for the common good.
With all my kind regards and best wishes in your attempts to restore trust and sanity to politics and economics and thus, to build a better Britain.
Kamran Mofid
PS: I do hope that the beautiful, timeless and inspiring words below, by Joy Harjo resonates with you as much as it has with me:
“Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is….
Remember the earth whose skin you are”