S2 Ep6: The Economics of Arrival with Katherine Trebeck

How does a society know when enough is enough and it is time to stop growing, developing, consuming? How does a society know when it has ‘arrived’ and doesn’t need to keep striving for more? How does a society know when it hasn’t yet 'arrived' and where further material growth is still, on balance, a good idea? What are the ceiling limits to look out for?

Well, who better to come to my rescue on this philosophical quagmire of a question than Dr. Katherine Trebeck, co-Author of "The Economics of Arrival: Ideas for a Grown-Up Economy."

In addition to being a star class writer, Katherine is Senior Strategic Advisor for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance – a global collaboration she co-founded in 2018, the same year she co-founded WEAll Scotland. Before then, she had a prodigious history with Oxfam. She is also one of those people who have given a talk for TedX and amassed over 65 000 views. Impressed yet?

However, as I live a very sheltered and insular life, I first came across Katherine Trebeck when I stumbled upon the Melbourne book launch of 'Economics of Arrival' (which she co-wrote with the equally impressive Jeremy Williams) almost by accident. I was meeting up for drinks with fellow post-growth activists who talked me into coming along to the book launch. I was immediately blown away by Katherine's speech at the event and bought the book on the spot.

I don't know HOW Katherine and Jeremy did it, but they achieved the almost impossible: they wrote a full-length book about economics and made it an incredibly interesting and absorbing read. I normally read ‘topical’ books only when necessary for my work, but I remember in October 2019 flipping through the pages eagerly on the tram every day on the way to the week-long Extinction Rebellion actions. The book provided a fantastic big-picture perspective on how a better world could look like. This proved to be a great motivator to begin a day's worth of protesting!

Katherine's humanity, curiosity and sense for social justice shines through every page in 'Economics Of Arrival' just as it does when I spoke with her, a year and a half later on PGAP.

The choice of muzak today is 'Ticonderoga' by Melbourne art-rock duo 'Privateer'. This can all be found on their branch new EP "Winter's Dream." .

So sit back, enjoy the discussion and if, after the interview, you feel you still haven't arrived and are hankering for more of Katherine's great work:

Dr. Katherine Trebeck's website can be found here.

The 'Economics of Arrival’ can be bought here.

Why the Future Economy has to be a Wellbeing Economy | Katherine Trebeck | TEDxMünche - this video has merely received 65,114 YouTube views. Make sure you're number 65, 115!

Katherine is co-founder of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance. Anyone who loves post-growth will adore WEAll so check them out now!

IF YOU LIKED THIS EPISODE OF PGAP YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Post Growth Institute with Robert Wanalo - Robert is a member of WEAll (just like Katherine!) and a member of Post-Growth Institute (just like Katherine's co-author Jeremy Williams!)

In the wrap-up to the interview, I made some observations on contrasting opinions to fellow author Karen Shragg , who I interviewed just one episode ago. Worth checking out to draw out your own comparisons!

If you are interested in a global south perspective on family planning and population sustainability, my interview with Ugandan born Florence Blondel is probably still my favourite of all the conversations on PGAP so far.

Special Guest: Dr Katherine Trebeck.