From Bioeconomics to Degrowth

Download From Bioeconomics to Degrowth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 113682216X
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (368 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis From Bioeconomics to Degrowth by : Nicolas Georgescu-Roegen

Download or read book From Bioeconomics to Degrowth written by Nicolas Georgescu-Roegen and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2011-03-28 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nicolae Georgescu-Roegen (1906-1994) is considered today as perhaps the chief founder of the transdisciplinary field today known as Ecological Economics, but that he defined himself as Bioeconomics. In his later years Georgescu-Roegen intended to write a book of this title that would systematize what he considered to be the most significant results of his work. This project intends to resume this project, publishing a collection of the most relevant Georgescu-Roegen essays on Bioeconomics, including previously unpublished papers.

Degrowth

Download Degrowth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134449771
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (344 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Degrowth by : Giacomo D'Alisa

Download or read book Degrowth written by Giacomo D'Alisa and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-13 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Degrowth is a rejection of the illusion of growth and a call to repoliticize the public debate colonized by the idiom of economism. It is a project advocating the democratically-led shrinking of production and consumption with the aim of achieving social justice and ecological sustainability. This overview of degrowth offers a comprehensive coverage of the main topics and major challenges of degrowth in a succinct, simple and accessible manner. In addition, it offers a set of keywords useful forintervening in current political debates and for bringing about concrete degrowth-inspired proposals at different levels - local, national and global. The result is the most comprehensive coverage of the topic of degrowth in English and serves as the definitive international reference. More information at: vocabulary.degrowth.org View the author spotlight featuring events and press related to degrowth at http://t.co/k9qbQpyuYp.

Bioeconomy

Download Bioeconomy PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319681524
Total Pages : 358 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (196 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Bioeconomy by : Iris Lewandowski

Download or read book Bioeconomy written by Iris Lewandowski and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-12-11 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book defines the new field of "Bioeconomy" as the sustainable and innovative use of biomass and biological knowledge to provide food, feed, industrial products, bioenergy and ecological services. The chapters highlight the importance of bioeconomy-related concepts in public, scientific, and political discourse. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the authors outline the dimensions of the bioeconomy as a means of achieving sustainability. The authors are ideally situated to elaborate on the diverse aspects of the bioeconomy. They have acquired in-depth experience of interdisciplinary research through the university’s focus on “Bioeconomy”, its contribution to the Bioeconomy Research Program of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, and its participation in the German Bioeconomy Council. With the number of bioeconomy-related projects at European universities rising, this book will provide graduate students and researchers with background information on the bioeconomy. It will familiarize scientific readers with bioeconomy-related terms and give scientific background for economists, agronomists and natural scientists alike.

Degrowth

Download Degrowth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134449844
Total Pages : 269 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (344 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Degrowth by : Giacomo D'Alisa

Download or read book Degrowth written by Giacomo D'Alisa and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-13 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Degrowth is a rejection of the illusion of growth and a call to repoliticize the public debate colonized by the idiom of economism. It is a project advocating the democratically-led shrinking of production and consumption with the aim of achieving social justice and ecological sustainability. This overview of degrowth offers a comprehensive coverage of the main topics and major challenges of degrowth in a succinct, simple and accessible manner. In addition, it offers a set of keywords useful forintervening in current political debates and for bringing about concrete degrowth-inspired proposals at different levels - local, national and global. The result is the most comprehensive coverage of the topic of degrowth in English and serves as the definitive international reference. More information at: vocabulary.degrowth.org View the author spotlight featuring events and press related to degrowth at http://t.co/k9qbQpyuYp.

Degrowth in Movement(s)

Download Degrowth in Movement(s) PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Hunt Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1789041872
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (89 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Degrowth in Movement(s) by : Nina Treu

Download or read book Degrowth in Movement(s) written by Nina Treu and published by John Hunt Publishing. This book was released on 2020-05-29 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Degrowth is an emerging social movement that overlaps with proposals for systemic change such as anti-globalization and climate justice, commons and transition towns, basic income and Buen Vivir. Degrowth in Movement(s) reflects on the current situation of social movements aiming at overcoming capitalism, industrialism and domination. The essays ask: What is the key idea of the respective movement? Who is active? What is the relation with the degrowth movement? What can the degrowth movement learn from these other movements and the other way around? Which common proposals, but also which contradictions, oppositions and tensions exist? And what alliances could be possible for broader systemic transformations? Corinna Bukhart, Matthias Schmelzer, and Nina Treu have curated an impressive demonstration that there are, beyond regressive neoliberalism and techno-fixes, emancipatory alternatives contributing to a good life for all. Degrowth in Movement(s) explores this mosaic for social-ecological transformation - an alliance strengthened by diversity.

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Download Decent Work and Economic Growth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9783319958668
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (586 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Decent Work and Economic Growth by : Walter Leal Filho

Download or read book Decent Work and Economic Growth written by Walter Leal Filho and published by Springer. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The problems related to the process of industrialisation such as biodiversity depletion, climate change and a worsening of health and living conditions, especially but not only in developing countries, intensify. Therefore, there is an increasing need to search for integrated solutions to make development more sustainable. The United Nations has acknowledged the problem and approved the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. On 1st January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda officially came into force. These goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals comprehensively addresses the SDGs in an integrated way. The Encyclopedia encompasses 17 volumes, each one devoted to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume addresses SDG 8, namely "Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all" and contains the description of a range of terms, to allow a better understanding and foster knowledge. The predominant economic model is promoting a lopsided economic growth that is further increasing the gap between the have and the have-nots. This SDG is not just proposing the attainment of more just and empowering economic models, but it also puts at the forefront the well-being of workers by striving to provide employment and better working conditions that respect the dignity of workers. Concretely, the defined targets are: Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value Substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and end child labour in all its forms Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment Devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries Develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization Editorial Board Rimjhim M Aggarwal, Rosa Maria Fernandez, Edurne A. Inigo, Nerise Johnson, Dmitry Kurochkin, Wim Lambrechts, Sonja Rewhorn, Marco Tortora, Tony Wall

Energy and the Wealth of Nations

Download Energy and the Wealth of Nations PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319662198
Total Pages : 507 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (196 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Energy and the Wealth of Nations by : Charles A.S. Hall

Download or read book Energy and the Wealth of Nations written by Charles A.S. Hall and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-03-05 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this updated edition of a groundbreaking text, concepts such as energy return on investment (EROI) provide powerful insights into the real balance sheets that drive our “petroleum economy.” Hall and Klitgaard explore the relation between energy and the wealth explosion of the 20th century, and the interaction of internal limits to growth found in the investment process and rising inequality with the biophysical limits posed by finite energy resources. The authors focus attention on the failure of markets to recognize or efficiently allocate diminishing resources, the economic consequences of peak oil, the high cost and relatively low EROI of finding and exploiting new oil fields, including the much ballyhooed shale plays and oil sands, and whether alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar power can meet the minimum EROI requirements needed to run society as we know it. For the past 150 years, economics has been treated as a social science in which economies are modeled as a circular flow of income between producers and consumers. In this “perpetual motion” of interactions between firms that produce and households that consume, little or no accounting is given of the flow of energy and materials from the environment and back again. In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, when energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption are likely to constrain economic growth, this exemption should be considered illusory at best. This book is an essential read for all scientists and economists who have recognized the urgent need for a more scientific, empirical, and unified approach to economics in an energy-constrained world, and serves as an ideal teaching text for the growing number of courses, such as the authors’ own, on the role of energy in society.

The Case for Degrowth

Download The Case for Degrowth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1509535640
Total Pages : 76 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (95 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Case for Degrowth by : Giorgos Kallis

Download or read book The Case for Degrowth written by Giorgos Kallis and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-09-29 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relentless pursuit of economic growth is the defining characteristic of contemporary societies. Yet it benefits few and demands monstrous social and ecological sacrifice. Is there a viable alternative? How can we halt the endless quest to grow global production and consumption and instead secure socio-ecological conditions that support lives worth living for all? In this compelling book, leading experts Giorgos Kallis, Susan Paulson, Giacomo D’Alisa and Federico Demaria make the case for degrowth - living well with less, by living differently, prioritizing wellbeing, equity and sustainability. Drawing on emerging initiatives and enduring traditions around the world, they advance a radical degrowth vision and outline policies to shape work and care, income and investment that avoid exploitative and unsustainable practices. Degrowth, they argue, can be achieved through transformative strategies that allow societies to slow down by design, not disaster. Essential reading for all concerned citizens, policy-makers, and students, this book will be an important contribution to one of the thorniest and most pressing debates of our era.

Economic Growth, the Environment and International Relations

Download Economic Growth, the Environment and International Relations PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 113517900X
Total Pages : 425 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (351 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Economic Growth, the Environment and International Relations by : Stephen J. Purdey

Download or read book Economic Growth, the Environment and International Relations written by Stephen J. Purdey and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-01-04 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ubiquity of the commitment to economic growth, which Purdey refers to as the growth paradigm, is extraordinary. National governments around the world are seized of the same objective. Major international institutions such as the UN, the WTO, the World Bank, IMF and OECD, powerful international organizations such as regional trading blocs and multinational corporations – even civil societies of all kinds enthusiastically pursue a larger economic pie. This book examines the deep origins and rise to prominence of the commitment to economic growth. It explains why, despite the diversity of regime types, levels of development, cultures and other divisions typical of international relations, all major actors in the modern global polity pursue an identical political priority. Purdey critically examines the growth paradigm highlighting its normative foundations and its environmental impact, especially climate change. Using a neo-Gramscian approach, Purdey re-engages the ‘limits to growth’ controversy, identifying the commitment to growth as a form of utopianism that is as dangerous as it is seductive. By illuminating and interrogating the history, politics and morality of the growth paradigm, this book shifts the terrain of the limits debate from instrumental to ethical considerations. It will be of interest to students and scholars of political economy, international relations, environmental studies and ethics.

Towards a Society of Degrowth

Download Towards a Society of Degrowth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351005928
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (51 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Towards a Society of Degrowth by : Onofrio Romano

Download or read book Towards a Society of Degrowth written by Onofrio Romano and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-10-23 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the concept of degrowth, beginning from a basic assumption, not of resource depletion, as is common in most literature in the field, but rather from a state of abundance, arguing that there is a vast amount of energy on the planet waiting to be utilized by all its inhabitants. Adopting a sociological approach, Onofrio Romano argues that the growth momentum is not simply a broadly shared “value,” but the physiological outcome of a specific institutional frame. The problem is that in its mainstream formulation the degrowth alternative shares with the growth-led regime some basic anthropological, political, and institutional pillars. In order to build a real alternative, Romano suggests reviewing degrowth in the light of the dépense notion by Georges Bataille. According to Bataille, our societies have no problem with acknowledging scarcity, but with dealing with the surplus energy that calls us to act for a qualified life. So, in order to erase the growth obsession, we have to ward off the “servile” dimension, i.e., the utilitarian activities needed for the mere reproduction of life, to regain sovereignty, as reflected in the de-thinking subject. Innovative and provocative, Towards a Society of Degrowth will be of great interest to students and scholars of degrowth, sociology, social anthropology, political ecology, and ecological economics.

Bioeconomy and Global Inequalities

Download Bioeconomy and Global Inequalities PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030689441
Total Pages : 339 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (36 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Bioeconomy and Global Inequalities by : Maria Backhouse

Download or read book Bioeconomy and Global Inequalities written by Maria Backhouse and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-05-17 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book focuses on the meanings, agendas, as well as the local and global implications of bioeconomy and bioenergy policies in and across South America, Asia and Europe. It explores how a transition away from a fossil and towards a bio-based economic order alters, reinforces and challenges socio-ecological inequalities. The volume presents a historically informed and empirically rich discussion of bioeconomy developments with a particular focus on bio-based energy. A series of conceptual discussions and case studies with a multidisciplinary background in the social sciences illuminate how the deployment of biomass sources from the agricultural and forestry sectors affect societal changes concerning knowledge production, land and labour relations, political participation and international trade. How can a global perspective on socio-ecological inequalities contribute to a complex and critical understanding of bioeconomy? Who participates in the negotiation of specific bioeconomy policies and who does not? Who determines the agenda? To what extent does the bioeconomy affect existing socio-ecological inequalities in rural areas? What are the implications of the bioeconomy for existing relations of extraction and inequalities across regions? The volume is an invitation to reflect upon these questions and more, at a time when the need for an ecological and socially just transition away from a carbon intensive economy is becoming increasingly pressing.

History of the Future of Economic Growth

Download History of the Future of Economic Growth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1134866690
Total Pages : 215 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (348 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis History of the Future of Economic Growth by : Iris Borowy

Download or read book History of the Future of Economic Growth written by Iris Borowy and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-02-24 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The future of economic growth is one of the decisive questions of the twenty-first century. Alarmed by declining growth rates in industrialized countries, climate change, and rising socio-economic inequalities, among other challenges, more and more people demand to look for alternatives beyond growth. However, so far these current debates about sustainability, post-growth or degrowth lack a thorough historical perspective. This edited volume brings together original contributions on different aspects of the history of economic growth as a central and near-ubiquitous tenet of developmental strategies. The book addresses the origins and evolution of the growth paradigm from the seventeenth century up to the present day and also looks at sustainable development, sustainable growth, and degrowth as examples of alternative developmental models. By focusing on the mixed legacy of growth, both as a major source of expanded life expectancies and increased comfort, and as a destructive force harming personal livelihoods and threatening entire societies in the future, the editors seek to provide historical depth to the ongoing discussion on suitable principles of present and future global development. History of the Future of Economic Growth is aimed at students and academics in environmental, social, economic and international history, political science, environmental studies, and economics, as well as those interested in ongoing discussions about growth, sustainable development, degrowth, and, more generally, the future.

Handbook on Alternative Global Development

Download Handbook on Alternative Global Development PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1839109955
Total Pages : 389 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (391 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Handbook on Alternative Global Development by : Franklin Obeng-Odoom

Download or read book Handbook on Alternative Global Development written by Franklin Obeng-Odoom and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2023-11-03 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenging the dominant and mainstream views in global development, this pioneering Handbook questions the entirety of the development process in order to outline holistic political economies of development, discontents, and alternatives.

Growth

Download Growth PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262539683
Total Pages : 665 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Growth by : Vaclav Smil

Download or read book Growth written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page 665 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations. Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child's growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations. Smil takes readers from bacterial invasions through animal metabolisms to megacities and the global economy. He begins with organisms whose mature sizes range from microscopic to enormous, looking at disease-causing microbes, the cultivation of staple crops, and human growth from infancy to adulthood. He examines the growth of energy conversions and man-made objects that enable economic activities—developments that have been essential to civilization. Finally, he looks at growth in complex systems, beginning with the growth of human populations and proceeding to the growth of cities. He considers the challenges of tracing the growth of empires and civilizations, explaining that we can chart the growth of organisms across individual and evolutionary time, but that the progress of societies and economies, not so linear, encompasses both decline and renewal. The trajectory of modern civilization, driven by competing imperatives of material growth and biospheric limits, Smil tells us, remains uncertain.

Degrowth and Tourism

Download Degrowth and Tourism PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000340201
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (3 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Degrowth and Tourism by : C. Michael Hall

Download or read book Degrowth and Tourism written by C. Michael Hall and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-28 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sustainability of tourism is increasingly under question given the challenges of overtourism, COVID-19 and the contribution of tourism to climate and environmental change. Degrowth and Tourism provides an original response to the central problem of growth in tourism, an imperative that has been intrinsic within tourism practice, and directs the reader to rethink the impacts of tourism and possible alternatives beyond the sustainable growth discourse. Using a multi-scaled approach to investigate degrowth’s macro effects and micro indications in tourism, this book frames degrowth in tourism in terms of business, destination and policy initiatives. It uses a combination of empirical research, case studies and theory to offer new perspectives and approaches to analyse issues related to overtourism, COVID-19, small-scale tourism operations and entrepreneurship, mobility and climate change in tourism. Interdisciplinary chapters provide studies on animal-based tourism, nature-based tourism, domestic tourism, developing community-centric tourism and many other areas, within the paradigm of degrowth. This book offers significant insight on both the implications of degrowth paradigm in tourism studies and practices, as well as tourism’s potential contributions to the degrowth paradigm, and will be essential reading for all those interested in sustainable tourism and transformations through tourism.

Liberation from Excess

Download Liberation from Excess PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9783865813244
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (132 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Liberation from Excess by : Niko Paech

Download or read book Liberation from Excess written by Niko Paech and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Great Transition

Download The Great Transition PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317820282
Total Pages : 139 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (178 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Great Transition by : Mauro Bonaiuti

Download or read book The Great Transition written by Mauro Bonaiuti and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-05 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent events including the financial crisis and the gradual lessening of the planet’s natural resources have raised the fundamental question as to whether the capitalist market system can survive its own contradictions or whether we are witnessing the outset of a profound change in civilization. By deploying the tools of the science of complexity alongside those of historical research, Mauro Bonaiuti tackles this basic question, posed against a backcloth of declining marginal returns where growth in the complexity of industrial, military and bureaucratic-institutional apparatuses is thought to have led to progressive increases in economic, social and environmental costs. In this framework, the economic crisis we are traversing, grave as it is, could be interpreted not as a simple cyclical crisis, from which it is possible to escape by the traditional policies of supporting growth, but as the outcome of a ‘passage of civilization’ inscribed in the long-term evolutionary dynamics of capitalism. After the crisis that started in 2008, with millions of people unemployed, with the failure of the economy to pick up and with the ever-growing sense of precariousness and insecurity, we are beginning to suspect that we are facing something more than a cyclical crisis.