The commodification of experience is destroying cultures & the environment.
It feels like people are finally coming around to the notion of overwork. For a while there, it seemed like the 100-hour work week was something to aspire to, a moral imperative with social, financial and even spiritual rewards. Burnout has become the norm. But lately, more and more articles are popping up about the perils of immersing yourself in work to the detriment life’s myriad opportunities for enjoyment, enrichment and meaning.
I never truly bought into the cult of work, and have actively tried to journey away from it. I’ve managed to get to a point where work, while…
In a year of changes and challenges, post growth is entering the mainstream.
These middle months of 2020 have highlighted the need for social and economic transformation more than ever before. Our operating system is due an upgrade — and, if you look closely, it’s already happening.
In partnership with Filene Research Institute, Post Growth Institute (PGI) researcher Adam Szymanski-Burgos published an extensive report and set of case studies on credit unions — offering insights that will help nonprofit financial institutions offer business services at scale.
In the face of devastation, locals mobilized to coordinate both immediate & long-term security for those most affected by the blaze.
On the morning of September 9th, a grass fire in Oregon’s Rogue Valley was fueled by strong winds and soon turned catastrophic, tearing through the towns of Phoenix and Talent, destroying over 2300 residences — many of which were in mobile home parks housing the elderly and low-income and migrant workers.
Welcome to the roaring twenties.
I often find myself lying awake at 3am. I know I’m not alone because my Twitter feed is full of new insomniacs. The past few weeks, however, I’ve noticed a difference. The sensations are similar— a pounding heart, lurching stomach and racing thoughts — but the quality of them is not the same as the earlier anxiety. It takes me a while to realise: this is anger.
You wouldn’t know it to meet me, but I’ve been angry for a long time. I find injustice infuriating, and it’s everywhere. And it keeps getting worse. In the last 40 years, income…
We’ve been creating and sharing resources to help us through the toughest of times and build resilience for the future.
As the first quarter of a turbulent year draws to a close, here at the PGI we’ve been creating and sharing resources to help get us through the toughest of times and build resilience for the future.
Executive Director Donnie Maclurcan imagined a world beyond capitalist crises for Salon magazine, and spoke to Jefferson Public Radio about another way out of economic upheaval.
In a joint effort, members of the PGI team created a blog post outlining 10 steps for rebalancing our world during times of crisis, which was reposted by the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, translated into Spanish, mentioned in…
When I look back on all this, what will I remember?
Will it be the sound of birdsong ringing out across the otherwise silent city?
Taking long lungfuls of unpolluted air?
Frolicking with the dog on carless cobblestones?
Will I think back to board games played virtually with family abroad, the banter and closeness transcending physicality in ways we never imagined because we’d never bothered trying? The online yoga sessions with friends from distant lands; the creativity and community we created together at a moment’s notice that pulled some people back from the edge of the abyss.
Will it be…
Humans are hard-wired to react to fear. But we also have a unique capacity to transcend those impulses and find solace in solidarity.
I’m not here to tell you how to feel. I’m not going to quote facts and figures that leave you more confused than when you started reading. I’m writing this mainly for myself, to process the emotional turmoil and arrive at a place of calm. A place where concern and uncertainty do not mean suffering. A place where I don’t have to decide between complacency and panic.
Fear provokes the fight or flight response, and when faced with a threat we tend to experience a strong, almost irresponsible urge to do something. Our body releases adrenaline, which makes that need…
Our Content Lead, Natalie, uncovers the best of the region’s activities, accommodation, and cuisine.
Terracotta’s Content Lead, Natalie Holmes, has lived in Berlin for over a decade, and this December returned to her homeland to revisit the scene of her childhood vacations with close family. Ever the explorer, Natalie took the opportunity to uncover the best of the region’s activities, accommodation, and cuisine to ensure we can plan your dream trip.
Memories of my childhood, like the photos on the walls of my family home, are all set in Cornwall, England’s most charming and beautiful county. My grandparents owned a tiny, traditional cottage in the small town of Redruth, where we spent many a…
Balancing our right to enjoy the Earth while respecting the environment and our fellow inhabitants.
We’ve entered the era of overtourism. From Fodor’s new “No List” to protests in Barcelona to the Peruvian government’s ongoing battle to limit visitor numbers to Machu Picchu, popular destinations are feeling the strain. In 2016, over a billion people took a tourist trip abroad — more than double the number of just 20 years ago.
It’s not just about numbers. Travel can perpetuate global inequalities by exploiting local people, livelihoods and ecosystems. In diverse destinations, from India to Italy, people are being displaced to make way for tourism developments and infrastructure.
As excitement about post-growth swells, we’ve been forging practical pathways beyond capitalism and giving people a sense that there’s something worth fighting for.
2019 has been a big year for post-growth, with mainstream economic publications like the Financial Times, Forbes, and others highlighting the folly of endless growth and calling for an alternative system that allows humans and the environment to survive — and thrive.
Through our research, training, and movement-building, the PGI is actively working to forge pathways to this brighter future. This year we published stage I of our Credit Union Banking study, and developed a research partnership with Filene, the US’s leading Credit Union think tank.
We also relaunched our blog here on Medium, providing cutting-edge perspectives on emerging economic…
Natalie Holmes
Humanitarian, writer, yoga teacher, budding urban farmer. Managing editor @ medium.com/post-growth-institute
