Traditionally, approaches to managing resources in society or providing services have tended to be presented as a stark choice between control by the state or by market mechanisms. This binary division ignores a crucial third possibility: management by autonomous citizens. Evidence suggests this approach is crucial to the wellbeing of both individuals and societies. Two…
I was thinking about it, when I took the night train from Prague to Ghent last week. What a nice proposal from Europe, to give every 18-year-old an Interrail-pass. It can allow the discovery of Europe and its the diversity. At the same time it is a refreshing way for Europe to promote the railways…
Read more Promoting the interrail-pass, yet banning the night train?
The ecological production project of the Green European Foundation (ECOPRO) centralises its focus on the development of sustainable green technologies in a post-growth society. The core idea integral to the project is that the deployment of such green technologies would produce and maintain a green and just societal equilibrium; one that is needed in contrast…
Read more The politics of sufficiency: a new approach to ecological production
Ecological illiteracy. It’s a term I learnt from the British author Tim Jackson and it has come in handy ever since. It is particularly useful in discussions with economists. As long as most of them believe that anything, including that age-old forest, can be replaced as long as money and innovation are at hand, you…
“Sharing is the new having”, is what every trend watcher will tell you. Why purchase a drill if you use it only twice a year? Or why buy a car if it is more often than not standing still in front of your house? Doesn’t sharing make for a better alternative? In this way, we…
In Belgium, voting is compulsory. Nevertheless, more and more people choose not to vote. This means that the voices of socially weaker groups tend to fade away, unless civil society organisations take conscious steps to put social themes at the top of the political agenda. This is exactly what was done during recent elections in…
Read more Every Vote Counts: Social Themes on the Political Agenda
Our society is facing a multiple crises and the challenges are known. Our current economic model of Take-Make-Use-Waste is no longer viable since it exceeds the carrying capacity of the earth and generates more inequality. The European Greens have formulated a Green New Deal (GND) as an integrated answer to the crises at the European…
The recent uproar around the hanky-panky with horse meat reminds us once more that food is not a normal commodity. To most people eating beef or eating horse makes a world of difference – just as to others, eating any kind of meat is a serious issue. The reason for this is that nutrition belongs…
Dirk Holemans 