Growth Mindset to Open Mindset
Navigating from Growth to an Open Mindset
The concept of a fixed mindset that rejects criticism and fails to evolve positively has been around for a long time. In conventional business terms, the ‘growth’ mindset inspired a highly successful culture change within Microsoft in 2014. A new CEO helped the staff to unlock themselves from their fixed mindset and the complacency that had resulted.
The ‘fixed’ to ‘growth’ mindset transition offers a clue as to why the global culture change required to live within the biophysical limits of Earth is proving so challenging for humanity. The ‘growth mindset’ is fatally flawed, for there is no contingency for dealing with biophysical constraints, and no facility to embrace peaceful solutions. To embrace profound culture change, we need an open mindset that allows us to stop and think, rather than blindly persisting with old habits. In the current context, the old habits of pursuing population growth, financial profit and technical solutions are all unhelpful traits from our past.
Johan Hansson is one of the few scientists who are stepping out of the box of growth economics. In this article he argues that it will never be possible to meet our climate targets if countries continue their obsession with growing the economy
In a recent video Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reveals how the war in Ukraine has commercial motivations behind it. All wars are driven by a fight to control either human or natural resources. If we want to build a peaceful world we shall need to accept the reality that war is never wise. The genocide in Gaza is financed by the Judeo-Christian diaspora. This particular atrocity commenced in 1948, as Yanis Varoufakis explains eloquently in this video. The situation in Israel was aggravated by the xenophobia and the ‘birth war’ that was encouraged by Golda Meir. We are now seeing xenophobia emerging in Europe as people simultaneously fear immigration and decreasing birth rates. In the context of the ongoing mass extinction event, war just accelerates our own extinction. The Bystroff demographic model warns us of this modern day reality.
Persistence and Repetition
The ‘growth mindset’ recommends persistence and practice. However, there are circumstances when persistence with a fixed strategy is not appropriate. A fully ‘open mindset’ can recognise such circumstances and alter strategy accordingly. Right now, any strategy needs to prioritise a collective ambition to return within the biophysical limitations of Earth.
We have been unwisely applying the model of growth economics for centuries. We have known for over fifty years about the data on global ecological overshoot. This data warns us that the Bank of Nature is heavily overdrawn; and the mass extinction event warns us the ecosystems are collapsing. We are failing to use the feedback from scientific insights like these, and I=PAT and the Jevons paradox. Our mindset is fixed on growing Gross Domestic Product which seeks to increase all three of the IPAT drivers of environmental damage. The attitude to growth economics is similar to that of a drug addict towards narcotics.
Instead of curbing our economic activities in response to these scientific insights, we are deploying our affluence and technology in ways that are increasingly damaging to the environment. The impetus behind the energy transition has accelerated growth economics. Banks are readily printing money. Any increase in our financial debts will correspond to increased ecological debts, because all money is derived from exploiting ecological resources. Thus, the money being channelled into the energy transition to shore up our ecocidal economic model is simply serving to accelerate our demise.
If we are going to achieve sustainability we must first repay our debts to the Bank of Nature. Humanity is consuming 1.75 Earths, the carrying capacity is about 0.5 Earths. Therefore we need to shrink the global economy by about 70% to get back within carrying capacity. 100*(1.75–0.5)/1.75
The Insanity of Humanity
The quote: ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’ can be applied to the current global civilisation. Persisting with growth economics in the face of ecosystems collapse and an ongoing mass extinction event is the ultimate form of insanity; a collective endorsement of our own death warrant.
Two of the likely possible sources of this quote are from organisations dealing with addiction. To extricate ourselves from the addiction to growth economics will require a fully open mind. A mind that acknowledges the need to work within the biophysical constraints of Earth. A mind that accepts that most of the behaviour that we are exhibiting at the moment is not helping towards our long-term survival.
Humanity are addicted to increasing all three of the IPAT drivers of environmental damage. A combination of pronatalism, xenophobia, and growth economics have given rise to the tragedy in Gaza and the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, Russia is exploiting parts of Africa that are hard-hit by climate change for money laundering purposes, this is financing mercenaries in many African countries. Trump is promising detention camps to greet any unwanted immigrants to the USA. All this behaviour is paving the way to create fear and phobia adequate to start World War III.
Oxford University lacks an Open mindset
Oxford Martin School hosted an interview with Hannah Ritchie about her book ‘Not the End of the World’. In the questions, I challenged both Hannah and Sir Charles Godfray for not thinking outside the box of growth economics, saying ‘Why we were not seeking to minimise consumption per capita and population growth?’. Hannah’s reply implied that we cannot choose an option that our politicians will not embrace; Sir Charles answer related to population growth and his answer implied that population collapse is not something that he contemplates. My question and their answers come in the video at 42 minutes.
I also recently attended a series of lectures at Green Templeton College about a relatively new discipline called ‘planetary health’. Jo Jo Mehta from ‘Stop Ecocide’ explained how politicians are now engaging in the conversation about how we might prevent the total destruction of ecosystems. In answer to my question arguing that growth economics was in itself ecocidal, she explained that the ‘Stop Ecocide’ organisation does recognise the need for Degrowth economics, but they fear that the politicians will disengage if this is suggested.
Another speaker Thom Wetzer, when answering my question asserted that pollution and environmental degradation had been successfully decoupled from growing the economy. I plan to challenge him on this statement via email. I shall introduce him to the Bystroff demographic model. It will be interesting to see whether he can open his mind to the possibility of imminent extinction if we fail to change course. The timescale in the image below is informed by the Bystroff model.
