Tracking the battles for environmental justice: here are the world’s top 10
Author Julie Snorek Post-Doctoral Researcher, Environmental Justice Atlas, Autonomous University of Barcelona In Delhi, middle class residents and informal recyclers joined together to oppose the privatisation of waste management. EPA Environmental justice activism is to this age what the workers’ movement was for the industrial age – one of the […]
What Can Save Capitalism from a Medici Cycle?
By Peter M.J. Gross Can truly free markets be protected from government interference? According to Luigi Zingales of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, government regulation may be necessary to keep markets free and competitive. He doubts whether it’s desirable, or even possible, for markets to operate without government oversight. In […]
Why Africa is turning the heads of investors
Chinese and Western firms could experience high returns by investing in Africa’s strong economic growth. Since 2000, at least half of the world’s fastest-growing economies have been in Africa. And by 2030, Africa will be home to 1.7 billion people, whose combined consumer and business spending will total […]
The Innovators Dilemma
– by Clayton M. Christensen What do the Honda Supercub, Intel’s 8088 processor, and hydraulic excavators have in common? In The Innovator’s Dilemma they are all examples of disruptive technologies that helped to redefine the competitive landscape of their respective markets. These products did not come about as the result […]
The word globalisation is out of date. This is what should replace it
The word globalisation has lost its relevance and lustre with the emergence of the new global economy of the 21st century. In fact, it’s become an anachronism. Its deficiency is that it’s not a new concept which creates nuances of confusion. Globalisation describes the international outreach of countries for the […]
Bali’s Mt Agung eruption shows how businesses should and shouldn’t react
Tourism businesses should start by communicating precisely what they are going to do about the situation to the customer – quickly and clearly, to reduce uncertainty and avoid confusion. Russel PJ Kingshott, Senior Lecturer in Retailing, School of Marketing, Curtin Business School, Curtin University There’s nothing like an erupting […]
The truth behind big bubbles and crashes
When Katherine Hunt’s dad asked her whether or not he should invest in Bitcoin, alarm bells rang, first she thought “he’s a musician”. Hunt is a lecturer in accounting at the Griffith Business School, and as someone who knows the five stages of a bubble and crash, she was worried […]
Media Kit updated
The Mirror Media Kit has recently been updated and is available for viewing at: https://issuu.com/kimalves/docs/mhb_17059_mirror_media_kit If you have inspiring stories, disruptive ideas, and ways of bringing about social change, let us know. publisher@xtra.co.nz
Why you should eat a plant-based diet
Katherine Livingstone Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University. Plant-based diets are often shown to be good for health. Yet Australians eat a lot of meat and are sometimes reluctant to completely cut meat from their diet. So it’s important […]
4 ways Africa can achieve a manufacturing renaissance
Manufacturing production in Africa more than doubled over the past decade. For the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union), African leaders adopted the Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want– a vision for a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable […]
What is degrowth?
a radical economic theory born in the 1970s. It broadly means shrinking rather than growing economies, to use less of the world’s dwindling resources. Detractors of degrowth say economic growth has given the world everything from cancer treatments to indoor plumbing. Supporters argue that degrowth doesn’t mean “living in caves with candles” – but just living a bit more simply. How do we save our planet? Some economists believe the only way is to radically scale back our global consumption of resources. This is a key premise of degrowth – a political and economic theory that is gaining traction as fears grow over climate change. But is it workable? What is degrowth? Degrowth broadly means shrinking rather than growing economies, so we use less of the world’s energy and resources and put wellbeing ahead of profit. The idea is that by pursuing degrowth policies, economies can help themselves, their citizens and the planet by becoming more sustainable. Practical degrowth actions might include buying less stuff, growing your own food and using empty houses instead of building new ones. Degrowth as a term was coined in 1972 by Austrian-French social philosopher André Gorz, according to the website Degrowth.info. As a movement, degrowth started to take off in the early 2000s, according to media platform openDemocracy. Modern degrowth protagonists include French economist Serge Latouche, who argues that society’s current model of economic growth is unsustainable. Why does Degrowth matter? Government policies have focused on growing and expanding economies ever since. With increasing awareness about climate change, the degrowth debate has accelerated. If economic growth continues to be the default goal, it will lead to climate catastrophe, the argument goes, with no hope of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. It seems to be no coincidence that global warming caused by humans started around the 1830s, scientists believe, when the world’s […]