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Table of Contents
1 Cover
2 Praise
6 Figures
7 Tables
8 Preface
11 2 The Rise and Fall of the Mass Production Economy 2.1 The Rise and Fall of Economic Growth, 1950–2018 2.2 What Accounts for the Fall in the Rate of Economic Growth? Was it a consequence of a shortage of labour? What about the contribution of investment to the growth slowdown? And what about the productivity of investment? 2.3 Neo-liberalism and the Decline in Growth, Investment and Productivity Free trade and the retreat from Industrial Policy – increasing imbalances between countries The crisis in macroeconomic policy – matching demand with supply Sustaining demand through Quantitative Easing Growing financialization fuelled short-termism and dulled innovation 2.4 Can the Mass Production Paradigm Be Reinvigorated? The Great Recession of 2007–2018 – the sticking plaster wears off Debt continues to spiral Volatility and fragility in the financial sector threaten the likelihood of a new stock market crash Disruption to global supply chains 2.5 So What Does the Future Hold? Notes
12 3 The Bumpy Ride to Social Decay 3.1 The Rise and Rise of Inequality Changing patterns in the distribution of wealth Changing patterns in the distribution of income 3.2 The Startling Growth of ‘Absolute Poverty’ 3.3 Growing Inequality and Poverty Undermine Welfare and Social Solidarity 3.4 Neo-liberal Austerity Policies and the Power of the Plutocracy Caused Growing Inequality and Absolute Poverty The contribution of neo-liberal austerity policies to rising inequality and poverty The plutocracy promoted and legitimized austerity policies 3.5 The Fear of Migration Has Been Used to Fuel Populism 3.6 The Erosion of Liberal Democracy and the Rise of Populism Disrupt the Potential for Sustainable Growth Notes
13 4 The Collapse of Environmental Sustainability 4.1 From the Dawn of Settled Agriculture to the Great Acceleration 4.2 The Transition to the Anthropocene – Take, Make, Use and Waste ‘Taking’ from the biosphere: the example of the energy vector ‘Making’ with what is ‘Taken’ – are we using the earth’s resources more efficiently? Consumption: ‘Using’ what is ‘Made’ ‘Waste’, in and after ‘Use’ 4.3 It All Adds Up to a Crisis in Environmental Sustainability Notes
14 5 Mass Production Runs Out of Steam 5.1 Learning from History – Successive Techno-Economic Paradigms since the Industrial Revolution Growth surges and techno-economic paradigms Learning from history 5.2 The Development, Deployment and Atrophy of the Mass Production Paradigm
