Attribute

Growth Society

Steady State Society

Economic Philosophy

Primary Concept

Scarcity

Scarcity

Attitude to Scarcity

Conflict

Acceptance

Purpose of Production

Consumption

Maintenance

Emphasis on Production

Productivity

Distribution

Timescale Horizon

Narrow

Wide

Incentive for Work

Income for consumption

Satisfaction

Typical Attitude to Work

Necessary imposition

Accepted part of life

Work and Leisure

Differentiated

Little difference

Place of Humankind in Ecosystem

Domination

Participatory

Population

Typical Annual Growth Rate of Natural Population

2.0 %

Ideally average 0%

Doubling Time

36 Years

No doubling time with zero net immigration

Age Composition Profile

Triangular

Cylindrical

Total Fertility

Global peak of 5.10 in 1964 declining to 2.44 in 2016

Approx.  2.11

Time to Re-stabilise

70 years

Already stable

Net Reproduction Rate

Global peak of 1.892 (1965-1970) declining to 1.099 (2015-2020) Dependent on death rate 

1 000

Family Structure

Nuclear family

Extended family

Urbanisation

High (80%)

Lower (20-40 %?)

Capital Stock

Durability

Low

High

Maintenance Energy Cost

High

Low

Recycling

Limited

Optimised within inevitable dissipation and energy constraints

Creation of New Capital Stock

A large proportion of new capital stock is additional capital stock using additional materials

New capital stock is replacement capital stock.  Materials of old capital stock are recycled within above constraints

Energy Production

Source

Energy stock

Energy flow

Limits of Production

Peaking (maximum rate of extraction) and inevitable EROI decline to 1.0

Level of technology and availability of key scarce minerals invested in viable renewable energy sources

Permanence of Source

Non-renewable

Renewable over medium time scale, but ultimately long-term technological decline as minerals dissipate 

Level of Pollution

High Pollution

Low Pollution

Pattern of Energy Flow

Increasing then decline

Slow decline due to inevitable slow dissipation of materials and limits of recycling unless less abrupt fall precipitated by economic shock

Consumption

Pattern per Capita

Increasing per capita

Constant per capita with minor fluctuations

Goods and Services Consumption

Unnecessary consumption

Necessary consumption

Tertiary Sector

Large tertiary sector

Small tertiary sector – self sufficiency

Distribution of Consumption

Unequal distribution

Equal distribution

Wastage

High wastage

Low wastage

Industrial Production

Pollution

Heavy pollution

Light or no pollution

Energy Consumption

High energy consumption

Low energy consumption

Technological Accidents

Frequent and serious

Infrequent and insignificant

Type of Processes

Complicated 

Comprehensible and ideally locally supported

Impact on other Life Forms

Widespread destruction of other life forms

Participatory dependence on other life forms as an integral part of a healthy ecosystem and associated energy flow

Risk of Processes

Ecologically dangerous

Ecologically adapted

Organisation of Production

Concentration of Production 

Centralised

Decentralised within communities

Interdependency of Production

High interdependence, long supply chains

More self-sufficiency, shorter supply chains

Size of Productions Units

Large production units

Smaller production units

Specialisation of Production

High specialisation, emphasis on mass production

Low specialisation, emphasis on artisanship

Use of Science & Technology

Science and technology practised by specialist elite with high risk of unintended consequences

Science and technology practised by all using more appropriate, benign technology

Use of Capital, Energy, and Labour

Capital and energy intensive

More labour intensive

Food Production

Type of Agricultural System

Monoculture and uniformity

Permaculture and diversification

Participation in food production

Industrialised production by large farm units

Production of food involves every family

Factors of production

Energy and capital intensive

More labour-intensive

Use of Fertilisers

Artificial fertilisers

Natural fertilisers 

Use of animals

Animals used primarily as food source

Animals perhaps used again for mechanical energy value

Impact on soil

Erosion and depletion

Replenishment

EROEI

Low < 1.0

High > 10

Control of pests

Dangerous pesticides used

Ecological techniques used

Environmental Protection

Largely treated as a “nice to have” and source and sink, often as an “externality” to the market

Environmental integrity and ecosystem services become increasingly important as the support for the economy and as material resources contract