<story><title>The Case for Degrowth</title><url>https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n16/geoff-mann/reversing-the-freight-train</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>thematrixturtle</author><text>Japan is a living case study of degrowth: GDP has been essentially flat for the past 20 years.  The scale below exaggerates small shifts, but it was $4968B in 2000 and $4937B in 2020.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tradingeconomics.com&amp;#x2F;japan&amp;#x2F;gdp&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tradingeconomics.com&amp;#x2F;japan&amp;#x2F;gdp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;On the ground, this has translated into flat or deflating prices (until very recently) and an increasing bifurcation of society into salarymen, with low but stable incomes anchored on jobs-almost-for-life, and part-timers on temporary contracts, with groups like single mothers living in poverty.  Population is shrinking by close to 1M&amp;#x2F;year, the rural countryside is rapidly emptying out as young people flock into cities to chase opportunities, and the national pension scheme will sooner or later implode since it can&amp;#x27;t support 1 worker paying for 4 retirees forever.  It&amp;#x27;s frankly depressing and there&amp;#x27;s no obvious way out.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>AstralStorm</author><text>Thing is, GDP is a lousy measure of growth. Japan is undergoing a contraction and fossilization of its social structure.&lt;p&gt;Interestingly enough, the same is happening slowly in USA and UK, and then after a big space everywhere else. Note the anti-immigration and austerity rhetoric, where what is needed is a major social change, considering of some attempts to level the playing field and prevent the current corporate and political aristocracies from emerging again.&lt;p&gt;Aa for rural drain, it&amp;#x27;s been happening everywhere, mostly because for some reason we do not pay farmers enough, nor the systems we made allow even groups of then to be self sufficient.</text></comment>
<story><title>The Case for Degrowth</title><url>https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n16/geoff-mann/reversing-the-freight-train</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>thematrixturtle</author><text>Japan is a living case study of degrowth: GDP has been essentially flat for the past 20 years.  The scale below exaggerates small shifts, but it was $4968B in 2000 and $4937B in 2020.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tradingeconomics.com&amp;#x2F;japan&amp;#x2F;gdp&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tradingeconomics.com&amp;#x2F;japan&amp;#x2F;gdp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;On the ground, this has translated into flat or deflating prices (until very recently) and an increasing bifurcation of society into salarymen, with low but stable incomes anchored on jobs-almost-for-life, and part-timers on temporary contracts, with groups like single mothers living in poverty.  Population is shrinking by close to 1M&amp;#x2F;year, the rural countryside is rapidly emptying out as young people flock into cities to chase opportunities, and the national pension scheme will sooner or later implode since it can&amp;#x27;t support 1 worker paying for 4 retirees forever.  It&amp;#x27;s frankly depressing and there&amp;#x27;s no obvious way out.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>roflyear</author><text>There is an obvious way out. Increase immigration. The US does this well. Why doesn&amp;#x27;t Japan? Because of racism and xenophobia. No one talks about it (wouldn&amp;#x27;t be surprised if I got downvoted for mentioning it) but Japan is mad racist. They do not like foreigners.</text></comment>