This blog is more than three years old now. There have been 3,437 posts (3.08 per day, to save you working it out) and 7,456 published comments. And over a million words, I estimate. When things change, as they are, I’m happy to think the (unpaid) effort has been worthwhile. And I have to accept that blogging has become a part of my life.

So much so that it’s time for me to launch another blog. This is called ‘Enough Economics’.

I have had enough of economics as it is. But the title implies more than that. As I say on that blog:

This blog is about something different. It’s about economics: a new type of economics, and in particular a new economic theory. They audience may not be the same. And in any event, since this blog is about the production of a single idea, longitudinally over time, it needs to have space dedicated to it, and it alone.

The idea I want to explore is a simple one. It is that we humans need to give up the idea that we maximise our happiness, wealth or income, all of which ideas are implicit in the economics which governs behaviour in our society. I suggest that we need to practice the concept of having enough instead, but that in the process we will in fact be better off. If I could explain why in a sentence or two I would; it would save me a lot of time. The fact is that, at least as yet, I can’t. Hence this blog.

Why now though, especially because I’ve been working on some of these ideas since I was in my twenties. Again, I’ll quote myself:

[B]ecause I’m 51. Half a life time thinking about this is long enough. Now it is time to give this stuff an airing.

But there’s more to it than that: it’s also because it is very obvious that there is a need for a new theory of economics. As Tim Jackson said in his introduction to his report published in March 2009 for the Sustainable Development Commission :

What we still miss from this is a viable macroeconomic model in which these conditions can be achieved. There is no clear model for achieving economic stability without consumption growth. Nor do any of the existing models account fully for the dependency of the macro-economy on ecological variables such as resources and emissions. In short there is no macro-economics for sustainability and there is an urgent need for one.

I do not suggest that what I offer will be that model. Given that the model I will offer is by no means complete as yet I cannot have that confidence. But what I do know is that it is time for different thinking. That’s what the new blog is about.

However, I should make an important point. In most blogs you can pick up the thread whenever you like, dip in and out, and still get something of value. And you very often start reading with the latest entry and then, if so inclined, search the archive. That will not work on this new blog. It is about exploring an idea. You could try dipping in and out and get something, I hope. But if I’m honest this is a blog where starting at the very beginning might be best. So, I suggest you go here to start reading, and work on from there. But to make it easier I will publish blog compendiums as PDFs to make this whole process easier every now and again.

The entries on the Enough Economics blog will not be repeated here at Tax Research, but because they will be much less frequent I will draw attention to them. And as usual comments will be welcome, but abuse is not.