K3: Many Possibilities, One Economic Model

This roundtable discussion will explore intersections of communication, economic growth and climate change. There are few stories as vitally important and rarely told as the stories, such as economic degrowth, that offer alternatives to the endless growth economy. Instead, we have been, in the words of Naomi Klein, in This Changes Everything, “feeding the god of economic growth (via the alter of hyper-consumption) in every country in the world.” And it is this hyper-consumption that fuels the rapidly changing climate.

Consumerism is one of the defining features of our current landscape, displacing other narratives, values, worldviews and ways of being. Because consumerism is so prevalent, it is often construed as “what people want,” beyond reproach. Mass media is funded by advertising, with which editorial content must align and promote, most evident in new trends such as “sponsored editorial content” (Hardy, 2021). Such brand-controlled storytelling blurs what few lines are left between commercial interests and communicative “content.”

The roundtable discussion will start with four Pecha Kucha presentations (20 slides x 20 seconds per slide) that will offer four very different reflections on communication, economic growth and climate change. Upon completion of the four Pecha Kuchas, all in attendance will be invited to discuss the issues raised.