Eight persistent economic myths help protect vested interests, deepen inequality and accelerate environmental destruction. The economy must be rebuilt around wellbeing, sustainability and justice.

Australia and the world are facing existential and other major human-induced threats: climate change; destruction of our life support system, the natural environment; social breakdown due to increasing gaps in wealth, income and political power; a severe shortage of housing; inflation; and a high risk of nuclear war.

The principal sources of these threats are state capture by private vested interests – such as the fossil fuel, military-industrial complex, property development, gambling and financial services industries – and an economic system, designed by supporters of those vested interests and based on exploitation of the planet and most of its peoples.

The methods of state capture include political donations, revolving door jobs, and uncontrolled lobbying. The latter’s practitioners and supporters have been very successful in creating a ‘culture’ that fosters the interests of the rich and powerful and downgrades the importance of the environment, social justice and democratic decision-making. It does this by disseminating such myths as:

Economics can treat the natural environment as an infinite resource and infinite waste dump.

Endless economic growth on a finite planet is feasible and desirable.

Wealth trickles down from the rich to the poor – hence government subsidies to the rich are justified.

Monetary sovereign governments must balance the national budget.

GDP is a measure of wellbeing.

The value to society of anything is given by its market price.

All major social and political decisions should be left to the market.

The only alternative to capitalism is a communist dictatorship.

I call these notions........

© Pearls and Irritations