Re: The Problem with the "Abundance" Agenda (fwd)

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Yeah.  Should definitely be the banned word of the year.

 > From: Noelle <noelle>
 > Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2025 08:14:06 -0700 (PDT)
 >
 >  > From: Population Balance <http://www.populationbalance.org/~nandita.bajaj>
 >  > Date: Wed,  9 Apr 2025 14:51:58 +0000
 >  > 
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=08fda45048&e=2745e6175d
 >  > Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=5092a6a3d5&e=2745e6175d) | View in browser (
 >  > https://mailchi.mp/populationbalance.org/apr-9-2025?e=2745e6175d )
 >  > 
 >  > Dear Noelle,
 >  > 
 >  > The free market has brought us deepening climate change, wealth inequality, 
 >  > and housing insecurity, but a cohort of neoliberal political elites think 
 >  > that the market’s problem is that it is not free enough.
 >  > 
 >  > In their new book Abundance, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argue that the 
 >  > correct response to scarcity - of affordable housing, or of renewable energy 
 >  > infrastructure - is simply to build more, and to do so by relaxing the 
 >  > regulations that minimize the ecological and human health impacts of their 
 >  > construction.
 >  > 
 >  > Yet the abundance narrative lacks any acknowledgement that skyrocketing 
 >  > prices for housing and essential goods in the United States come on the 
 >  > heels of three decades of deregulation, or of the abundant tools for 
 >  > addressing the affordability crisis that do not involve placing infinite 
 >  > trust in the free market.
 >  > 
 >  > Two articles from among Population Balance staff and friends point out what 
 >  > the “Abundance” narrative gets wrong:
 >  > 
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=dbae4e51dd&e=2745e6175d
 >  > In our latest article in Counterpunch The Problem with Abundance (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=23cf61dd0b&e=2745e6175d
 >  > ) , our Lead Writer Kirsten Stade reminds 
 >  > us that:
 >  > 
 >  > Klein and Thompson’s “liberalism that builds” is a liberalism that 
 >  > drives us further into ecological overshoot….
 >  > 
 >  > Our future well-being demands a new ethic of balance rather than unregulated,
 >  >  unlimited growth. It needs a strong social safety net, labor and 
 >  > environmental protections, and universal access to contraception and 
 >  > abortion care, so we can stabilize and shrink our footprint and our numbers 
 >  > toward true abundance, where humans, wildlife, and natural systems can 
 >  > thrive.
 >  > 
 >  > Read the Article (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=eb0626aee6&e=2745e6175d
 >  > )
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=333b99a23c&e=2745e6175d
 >  > And the LA Progressive article A Different “Abundance Agenda”: Avoiding 
 >  > Delusions and Diversions (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=5bfeba3299&e=2745e6175d
 >  > )  by our friend and podcast guest (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=a5ab4bb939&e=2745e6175d
 >  > )  Bob Jensen imagines a very different 
 >  > sort of Abundance:
 >  > 
 >  > Instead of the promise of endless material abundance, which has never been 
 >  > consistent with a truly sustainable future, let’s invest in what we know 
 >  > produces human flourishing—collective activity in community based on 
 >  > shared needs and reduced wants.
 >  > 
 >  > Read the Article (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=0a2ac0220a&e=2745e6175d
 >  > )
 >  > For a primer on the ideology of free market fundamentalism and how it fuels 
 >  > population denialism and undermines democracy, check out our 2023 episode (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=93fa0e624c&e=2745e6175d
 >  > )  (with transcript) with Naomi Oreskes, 
 >  > Earth scientist and historian and co-author of The Big Myth: How American 
 >  > Business Taught Us to Loath Government and Love the Free Market. The 
 >  > closed-caption YouTube audio version can be accessed here (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=105c1b6046&e=2745e6175d
 >  > ) .
 >  > 
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=4269e700fa&e=2745e6175d
 >  > Listen to Episode (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=539f68b72c&e=2745e6175d
 >  > )
 >  > Support This Vital Work
 >  > The vital work we do is not possible without the generosity of supporters 
 >  > like you, and we are grateful to you for joining us in our work to build 
 >  > resilient, life-affirming alternatives. Please help us advance our goal of 
 >  > shrinking toward abundance by donating today.
 >  > 
 >  > DONATE (
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=31a3b12515&e=2745e6175d
 >  > )
 >  > https://populationbalance.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7b48a4d345f71f6d7ef70541a&id=55b825a721&e=2745e6175d
 >  > 
 >  > Thank you for your partnership in this important work! Please do not 
 >  > hesitate to email me with your questions or comments.
 >  > 
 >  > Warmest regards,
 >  > Nandita Bajaj
 >  > Executive Director
 >  > 
 >  > ============================================================
 >  > Copyright © 2025 Population Balance, All rights reserved.
 >  >  You're receiving this email because you either subscribed recently or you'
 >  >  ve been on our email list for some time as a supporter or follower.
 >  > 
 >  > Our mailing address is:
 >  > Population Balance
 >  > box 14175
 >  > Saint Paul, MN 55114
 >  > USA