The basis of our survival must begin with re-building our own
communities to be strong and sustainable, based on sociability and mutual support.
But communities must also be sustainable in the context of atmospheric CO2 under
350 ppm, which would also limit acidification of the oceans, the limitations of
sustainable global energy and resource throughput, and the constraint of a decent and
sustainable minimum standard of living for everyone. This means that we must
tackle the pervasive issue of economic growth, systemically, at both the local level
and the global level. We must reduce carbon-based energy and resource consumption
by adopting “de-growth,” “voluntary simplicity,” and “steady-state” economic
models that are based on mutual support, cooperative organization, and social
responsibility. Constructing a new moral economy is a massive and complex
undertaking that includes breaking the chains of consumerism, the long 40-60 hour
workweek, and advertising (Speth, 2012; Ivey, 2012). It also means new patterns of
governance, both in the public and private sectors (Ivey, 2012; Edwards, 2012;
Hacker & Pierson, 2012). Even more significantly, it entails the democratization of
wealth (Alperovitz, 2005), and the evolutionary eusocial transformation of the
human population in time to abate HIPPO (Habitat destruction, Invasive species,
Pollution, Overpopulation, and Overharvesting (Wilson, 2012).
Keywords: Abatement of HIPPO, advertising, carbon-based energy,
consumerism, cooperative organization, de-growth, democratization of wealth,
economic growth, evolutionary eusocial transformation, new moral economy, new
patterns of governance, private sector, public sector, responsible economy,
“steady-state” economic model, social responsibility, systemic approach, USA,
voluntary simplicity, four-day workweek.
