Prosperity without Growth

Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey, UK, and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). For seven years he was Economics Commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission, where his work culminated in the first edition of this book. He was awarded the Hillary Laureate for exceptional international leadership in 2016. In addition to his scientific work, Tim is a prize-winning dramatist with numerous radio writing credits for the BBC.

What can prosperity possibly mean in a world of environmental and social limits?

The publication of Prosperity without Growth was a landmark in the sustainability debate. Tim Jackson's piercing challenge to conventional economics openly questioned the most highly prized goal of politicians and economists alike: the continued pursuit of exponential economic growth. Its findings provoked controversy, inspired debate and led to a new wave of research building on its arguments and conclusions.

This substantially revised and re-written edition updates those arguments and considerably expands upon them. Jackson demonstrates that building a 'post-growth' economy is a precise, definable and meaningful task. Starting from clear first principles, he sets out the dimensions of that task: the nature of enterprise; the quality of our working lives; the structure of investment; and the role of the money supply. He shows how the economy of tomorrow may be transformed in ways that protect employment, facilitate social investment, reduce inequality and deliver both ecological and financial stability.

Seven years after it was first published, Prosperity without Growth is no longer a radical narrative whispered by a marginal fringe, but an essential vision of social progress in a post-crisis world. Fulfilling that vision is simply the most urgent task of our times.

In this new edition, Tim Jackson brings his explosive book up to date exploring both the philosophical basis for a lasting prosperity and the conceptual foundations for the economy of tomorrow. Starting from clear first principles, this revised edition articulates more precisely the dimensions of this new economy: the nature of enterprise, the quality of our working lives, the structure of investment and the role of the money supply. It shows how these dimensions can be transformed in ways which protect employment, facilitate social investment, reduce inequality and deliver both ecological and financial stability.

Foreword to the first edition

Prologue to the second edition

1 The Limits to Growth

2 Prosperity Lost

3 Redefining Prosperity

4 The Dilemma of Growth

5 The Myth of Decoupling

6 The 'Iron Cage' of Consumerism

7 Flourishing - Within Limits

8 Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow

9 Towards a 'Post-growth' Macroeconomics

10 The Progressive State

11 A Lasting Prosperity