Chapter 6: The Three Trolls under the Bridge

August 30, 2015

Barriers to Change

Powerful barriers and alternatively drivers for change and transformation of current development paths exist. What is stopping us from achieving a carbon neutral economy by 2030, as I argue in my book, we have more than enough science, information and innovation happening in Canada to begin going down new development paths. What are the biggest three trolls under the bridge preventing change: our belief in the ability of perpetual growth to ‘grow’ our way out of modern challenges, adherence to old capitalist models, and a lack of governance. This chapter offers concrete solutions for human progress decoupled from perpetual growth and the next chapter entitled Knights of the Round Table talks about the third troll.

Chapter Quote

“The definition of human well-being is at the heart of the matter. The relevance of economic performance is that it must be viewed as a means to an end and that the market is an imperfect allocation mechanism. That end is neither the consumption of beef burgers, nor the accumulation of television sets, nor the control of inflation rates, but rather the welfare of human societies. Some argue that economic performance matters only insofar as it makes people happier. A broader concept of wellbeing requires a more complex and nuanced analysis, provided through a recent burst of research into what factors support happiness and how this relates to economic growth, as well as broadened mainstream measures of what constitutes progress beyond the GDP.” (p. 93)

– Ann Dale, Edging Forward: Achieving Sustainable Community Development