Re: new thread: PKT and ecology

[Stephen Block <stephenb@xxxxxxxx>]

Title: Re: new thread: PKT and ecology

Many thanks. This meets my most optimistic expectations!!

Stephen
>

Congratulations Stephen,

You have managed to get this very busy Post-Keynesian academic writing on the PKT net again after many years absence (but still viewing the discussions).

I have been concerned with the same contradictions between PK and ecology. I agree with my "old" PKT friend Gernot K. that the aim for PKs is to find ways to overcome the contradictions that capitalism have placed in the way of achieving both objectives.

I have presented a paper recently at the International Society of Ecological Economists Conference (ISEE 2000 Conf., Canberra, July) on the way ecological economists can learn from PK economics about the way that short-term employment objectives can be met with long-term ecological sustainable development. The paper is available in "pdf form" from my web page on the School of Economics in Univ. of Tasmania (staff profile): (http://www.comlaw.utas.edu.au/economics/staff/Courvisanos/jcourvisanos. <http://www.comlaw.utas.edu.au/economics/staff/Courvisanos/jcourvisanos.html> html  <http://www.comlaw.utas.edu.au/economics/staff/Courvisanos/jcourvisanos.html> )

Essentially it is capital investment (Gernot calls it CAPEX) which is the crucial link to have the type of capital infrastructure and goods that produce ecologically sustainable outcomes. Briefly I use three PK elements:

• Stephen is correct to see Keynes as sympathetic, but no guidelines does he provide. we can still use his "socialism of investment" as the basis for the next two steps.
• Kalecki's perspective planning approach together with his two important "resource-saving parameters" which can act as ecological-efficient criteria for formulating investment rules.
• Adolph Lowe's "instrumental analysis" as a way of using instruments to achieve ecological long-term goals ALONG with short-term employment PK goals.
  

I adopt some new research in ecological economics to incorporate their policy initiatives into a perspective plan for ecological sustainable investment that ensures cumulative effective demand is also sustained.

After many years researching investment from a PK perspective, I felt it was time to challenge the ecological dilemma at the root cause...the type of investment. Hope it provides some food for thought to other fellow PKs
(p.s. Have a look at some of the ecological economists I refer to in my paper there are many weaknesses in their work, but also some great creativity as well).

Cheers from way down under (where there is still some fabulous wild nature still in existence...the capitalists couldn't get into it because of the wild weather),

Jerry Courvisanos