One is the capacity of deep-pocketed interests to influence regulators and governments to maximise profits. We will need to bring the peak down, and that will be difficult for precisely the same reasons that people remain poor amid extraordinary wealth. The danger is that we use too many resources and move beyond the outer edge of the doughnut into climate and ecological breakdown.įor quite some time amongst economists there's been faith in what's called the Environmental Kuznets Curve, where increasing consumption is said to lead to increased environmental degradation up to a point.īeyond that point, as a society becomes post-industrial, extra consumption is said to lead to less environmental degradation as people become more environmentally conscious and use their wealth to buy different things - more services (such as yoga classes) and fewer goods (such as hamburgers). In terms of the diagram, we already use enough resources to ensure nobody need be left in the hole on the inside of the doughnut. That they don't is a question of distribution rather than scarcity. But they also have enough resources, homes and food to provide for them. Such countries have homeless and hungry people, for sure. The challenge is to remain within the doughnut But in the modern world the reality is that, for rich countries such as Australia, there is no overall scarcity. Practically, it is challenging.Įconomics is traditionally defined as the study of the way societies allocate scarce resources. Mmm… doughnuts.Ĭonceptually it's pretty straightforward.

The sweet spot, the 'safe and just space for humanity' is, of course, in the doughnut itself. On the outside of the doughnut is an unsustainable impact on the environment.

Kate raworth donut economics