There may be a “next economy,” but it will not deliver the same kind of per capita GDP growth that people expect from the past.

The article "There Is No 'Next Economy'" by The Honest Sorcerer, published April 10, 2026 drives home a clear and compelling conclusion [1]. The so-called green/renewable/electrified economy (EVs, solar panels, batteries, etc.) is not a separate, independent system waiting to replace the fossil-fuel one. This "green" or electrified successor is a parasitic extension of the existing fossil-fuel industrial system, with no independent biophysical foundation. If that one economy falters or collapses under resource depletion, war, geopolitical shocks, or overshoot, there's no backup waiting in the wings. Mining, refining, shipping, and manufacturing at global scale run on dispatchable fossil energy.

The author uses the electric vehicle (EV) as an example. EVs require metals like graphite, copper, nickel, and lithium. None of these metals can be mined, refined, or shaped without fossil fuels. The author also explains the production of aluminum, a material used in EVs. Australia, a major bauxite producer, faces a fuel crisis. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz affects fuel supply. This impacts mining and production.

The author further discusses graphite, a component in batteries. Graphite is made from needle coke, a by-product of oil refining. Lithium mining in Australia is also disrupted due to diesel shortages. Copper and silver production were already declining before the war. The crisis affects sulphur supplies, which are used to make sulfuric acid for mining.

So, to repeat, today fossil fuels are essential not just for transportation, but for making almost everything.

It must be noted that the author assumes that there will be no major technological shifts and there will be no change in what we measure as “value”.

1. https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/there-is-no-next-economy

#NextEconomy #GDPGrowth #EnergyCrisis #FossilFuels #Degrowth #GreenEconomy #Geopolitics #GlobalEconomy

Here's the "Open Letter About The Next Economy" I wrote to then California Governor Jerry Brown (12 years ago this day) suggesting what he say to the people of California about key investments in what California is going to look like 50-100 years from now.

It seems—good news / bad news—to hold up pretty well. What do _you_think?

https://natlogic.com/an-open-letter-about-the-next-economy-to-california-governor-jerry-brown/

#investment #NextEconomy #California #infrastructure #sustainableFutures

Die zentralen #Erkenntnisse haben Hannah Strobel, Felix Sühlmann-Faul und @Jess_Degi in einem Artikel für den Postwachstumsblog zusammengefasst.
👉 hier geht's zum ❗ druckfrischen ❗ Artikel: https://www.postwachstum.de/wachstumsunabhaengigkeit-durch-digitalisierung-20221207

#Postgrowth #NextEconomy #Transformation #Nachhaltigkeit