The cultural political economy of research and innovation : meeting the problem of growth in the Anthropocene

Tyfield, David (2022) The cultural political economy of research and innovation : meeting the problem of growth in the Anthropocene. In: Elgar Handbook of Critical Environmental Politics :. Elgar Handbooks in Energy, the Environment and Climate Change . Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp. 217-231. ISBN 9781839100666

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Abstract

The imperative of urgent global just transition presents a grievous challenge. Current forms of economic growth are fundamental drivers of planetary ecological destruction. Yet economic growth remains indispensable, if only to underpin the profound socio-technical transition needed for an alternative, sustainable economy. The chapter explores the cultural political economy of research and innovation (CPERI) as a promising perspective for thinking through and going beyond this growth paradox. Having introduced CPERI, the chapter illustrates its advantages with a key, but much-neglected, concrete example of the growth paradox, namely the contribution of a rising China to tackling climate emergency, as site of both significant innovation and massive, resource-intensive economic growth. Comparison is also drawn with two similar perspectives, namely degrowth and responsible stagnation. A strategic approach, like CPERI, is needed to open up the prevailing definition of the ‘growth’ to which society is currently committed, and with major transformations still ahead.