Questions for this week: In what ways should aspects of our economy try to mimic the processes of nature? What would be required to implement such systems? Which social problems discussed in this class would these proposals fail to address, or even make worse? How could the circular economy, one of the major emerging economic concepts to eliminate waste, actually accelerate many of the issues we’ve discussed in this course? Should the focus on eliminating material waste be the ultimate goal of an economic system?
Readings:
- Visual Capitalist. “Visualized: The Circular Economy 101,” January 13, 2022. https://metals.visualcapitalist.com/sp/visualized-the-circular-economy-101/.
- McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. “Waste Equals Food.” In Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. 1st ed. New York: North Point Press, 2002, 92-117.
- Genovese, Andrea, and Mario Pansera. “The Circular Economy at a Crossroads: Technocratic Eco-Modernism or Convivial Technology for Social Revolution?” Capitalism Nature Socialism 32, no. 2 (April 3, 2021): 95–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2020.1763414.