The Limits to Growth Agnosticism: A Critical Analysis of Doughnut Economics in Theory and in Practice

Since its publication in 2017, Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics (DE) has fast become a popular approach to sustainable development. Not only has DE received rave reviews, it is being put into practice, including at the level of local governance in major cities such as Amsterdam. The former deputy mayor of Amsterdam suggested it was ideally suited to dealing with challenges related to housing, climate, jobs and communities and overcoming Thatcherite economic thinking. However, although highly critical of neoclassical economics and economic growth, Raworth largely eschews a direct critique of capitalism and ultimately advocates growth agnosticism; i.e. in favour of a socially just and ecologically sustainable economy that ‘thrives’ regardless of whether it expands or contracts. Others advocate degrowth in high-income nations, where decoupling economic growth from material throughput in time to meet the 1.5C to 2 C degree target(s) as per the Paris Agreement is not supported by historical evidence. Moreover, several authors have argued economic growth is an irreconcilable feature of capitalism hence a post-growth economy must be a post-capitalist one. It is therefore unclear whether DE and the position of growth agnosticism open up space for such a transformation or not. This thesis undertakes a critical analysis of DE on two planes: 1) at the theoretical level and 2) at the empirical level. It first considers Raworth’s political economy and programme for change as found primarily in her book before moving on to an investigation of how Doughnut Economics has been adopted by Cornwall Council, UK. Pertaining to the former, Doughnut Economics is situated alongside both orthodox pro- growth literature and critical scholarship from Marxian, eco-socialist, degrowth and eco- feminist traditions, to ascertain the merits of Raworth’s approach to economic growth and the solutions found within her model. In the latter, analysis of policy documents and semi- structured interviews have been used to explore the extent Cornwall Council’s approach to Doughnut Economics marries with the objectives of its original author, inclusive of local understandings of economic growth and the advantages and disadvantages corresponding to scale. This thesis suggests that there is potential to be found within Raworth’s analysis and normative vision. However, DE may be encumbered by certain weaknesses in its politics, Raworth’s argumentation and the model itself, which when combined with the local and national agendas studied, obfuscate the transition towards a post-growth economy.