Bigger on the inside than the outside…
Planetary limits and near-infinite human possibilities are not in contradiction.
Alex Steffen is a planetary futurist and creator of the books Worldchanging and Carbon Zero. His new project The Heroic Future launches in September. Follow Alex on Twitter or to sign up to get his free weekly newsletter.
A few notes on an idea: We’re confused about growth.
Ethical behavior on a finite planet involves leaving as many of that planet’s systems functioning for future generations as possible.
Indeed, people in the future (many argue, and I agree) have a human right to inherit a livable world.
Debate in 20th C boiled down to dichotomy: no growth within a civilization that respected the planet’s limits, or growth and a disregard of limits.
It’s a 20th C way of thinking to equate “growth” with material growth, increased possibilities with more stuff.
But we know that material increase is only one way (and not even the best way) to provide happiness. And consumer consumption has almost nothing to do with the grander adventures of humanity: art, science, spirituality, experiments in ways of living together, life adventures, personal well-being.
If we can sustainably provide for people’s material needs, (and the technical evidence seems strong this is becoming possible now for a population of 9–10 billion, though much work remains even at the level of basic research, much less scaled implementation), the potential for low-footprint work that advances the frontiers of art, science, human insight and so on is so large it looks from here to be infinite.
Experientially infinite growth in possibilities is completely compatible with the idea of planetary boundaries. Indeed, the faster we shrink our material footprint to fit within Earthly limits, the more possibilities we leave our descendants.
Humanity’s future, like the Tardis, is bigger on the inside than the outside.
A version of this piece was originally published on February 22, 2012 at www.alexsteffen.com.
