Real freedom for all turtles in Sugarscape? - Presses universitaires ...

64A r g u i n g a b o u t j u s t i c eThe industrial-capitalist world will not be able to afford the luxury ofannual economic growth much longer. We need to devise simpler, morecooperative ways that can be supported by renewable energy. So shouldn’twe try to take seriously the call for reasonable frugality? (This point wasalready central in Johnson 1973.) This is not a mere regression; to makesimpler, more cooperative ways good once again, people will of course becreatively using the knowledge gained in the modern era. The mostimportant technologies—medical care, communications, the knowledgeindustries, and many others—can undoubtedly be made sustainable, but notthe perpetual “getting and spending” reflexes constantly required by thenow dominant system logic.A frugal economy will still be a market economy. Prices, supply, anddemand are not per se culprits to be rejected. They have to be harnessedtoward sustainability rather than growth. The division of labor will remainvaluable especially in the smaller, more local markets that encourage the useof nearby resources to make life easier in smaller communities. However,money circulation and trade will occur on the backdrop of a differentview—that of an economy no longer set on competitively providing as fewas possible (costly) jobs in an ever-growing economy. The frugal economywill be an econo-diverse network of communities experimenting with frugalways of life, a loose network of local economies producing primarily for thelocal population. There will still be some long-distance trade, but withtransportation having become so expensive, there will be far more ofdecentralization, i.e., increasing de-globalization and re-localization.Frugality will have to go along with decreased purchasing power,meaning that in the sustainable niche people will have to make do withlower real incomes. Otherwise we will only perpetuate short-termconsumerism. But happily, a rejection of consumerism is precisely whatmotivates those who venture into frugality. Those who really strive in themainstream financial and industrial capitalist economy are unlikely to bethose who will first move toward frugal ways. The most constructive way ofengineering the transition would be to allow both ways to co-exist as theeconomy slows, rather than squeezing down everyone’s incomes rightaway.How gradual, smooth and, therefore, bearable will the transition be? Willit encourage the cooperation that has always sustained cultural evolution, orwill it foster the Darwinian hell of a survival of the most aggressive? Thesustainable niche is not the end of work, nor is it the realm of idle hippies. Itwill mean less productive and hence more abundant work (i.e., lessunemployment) and less consumption, but also a shared commitment toneighbors, with more regard for the well-being of all, rather than trying to