Tim Jackson, pictured, is the author of “Prosperity without Growth” Tim Jackson

Tim Jackson, pictured, is the author of “Prosperity without Growth” Tim Jackson

The ecological economist was invited to speak at the opening of the 2017 Spring Break Business Forum (formerly the spring fair) on 22 March in Luxexpo (now rebranded as Luxexpo The Box).

Speaking in front of a captivated audience of around 200 people, which included the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, he joked that 20 years earlier few people were willing to listen to his message about the circular economy.

“Now it is the focus of a national strategy,” he said, referring to the Third Industrial Revolution, Jeremy Rifkin’s strategy for Luxembourg using technology and sustainable energy.

Jackson attempted to change the minds of those in the audience who may be less convinced by this new strategy, by talking passionately about the ideas that have come to make him a hero in sustainable development circles: that we are running out of natural resources and using our human resources wrongly.

“The institutions that create the economy itself too often are driving us away from a sustainable world. Too often they are driving us towards an endless growth and resources, consumerism and in stuff,” Jackson said.

Labour productivity, he said, should be dropped as a measure for successful economies in favour of a different view where work is valued as an important participation in society, giving a person meaning and identity.

To appreciate that, he stressed the need for an overhaul of enterprise, so the goal is less about accumulating wealth and more about providing a service to others. Personal and social services and the crafts in particular, he said, are sectors where this is possible and also have a low carbon impact.

In order to bring about this change will take time and money, he pointed out, finance and investment being crucial. The idea of money, meanwhile, should be seen as a social good, that transforms lives and allows interaction.

“Perhaps this [idea] is the most difficult and challenging concept I am going to present. It is unfortunately one of the foundations of doing things in a different way,” Jackson said.