Has Europe given up on industrial society?

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This is the first debate of a two-part event. Tickets are €5, available on the door. Students and apprentices can attend free of charge.

For details of the second debate, see: Citius, Altius, Fortius: why should we care about sporting achievements?

Following the publication of his report on the future competitiveness of the EU, former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said he was having ‘nightmares’ about what might happen to the bloc’s economy in the future as the EU falls further behind the US and is overtaken by China. While there are no doubt structural problems to be dealt with, one important factor may be that the importance of economic growth – and its central role in Western civilisation – has been consistently downplayed in recent decades, particularly in Europe.

Western civilisation – with all the freedoms that we associate with it – is both the cause and the consequence of the astonishing success of Europe’s economies over the past few centuries. In Europe, from the Renaissance onwards, social change and free expression allowed this to happen to a greater degree than ever before, leading to a series of industrial revolutions that have transformed living standards and life expectancy. In turn, freed from the grind of subsistence, millions of people were able to live longer, more fulfilling lives. This abundance and freedom made Western societies a model to follow for others.

But since the late 1960s, scepticism about economic growth and industrial society has gained ground in the West. Critics have pointed to the uneven nature of wealth accumulation, leading to inequality. In the western world many feel increasingly alienated from the process of accumulation. They turn to ideas from elsewhere to try to find meaning. The environmental damage caused by pollution, the consumption of resources and the burning of fossil fuels, they argue, has become too high a price to pay to justify the endless demand for more material possessions. Do we, at some  point, have to say that enough is enough?

In Germany, the consequences of an insecure situation are becoming very clear. The once-proud industrial nation is feeling the squeeze of international competition. The economy is shrinking, living standards are falling. At the same time, a growing sector of the population is losing confidence in the promises of a better future.

Has Western civilisation lost its appeal? Is degrowth really what we want? What is the relationship between material progress and social progress? Is it ‘civilised’ to want more at the expense of the planet? Or do we need to reassert the importance of humans overcoming the limitations imposed by nature to live longer and more comfortable lives?