"Amidst global inequality and ecological crises, it is questionable whether the virtuous circle of the welfare states is in fact virtuous. (...) I identify three caveats of the policy idea and illustrate how the traditional virtuous circle is actually embedded in a vicious circle of ecological collapse. (...) [1] the belief in cumulative economic growth as beneficial for human wellbeing has proved to be outdated. (...) [2] social goals including human wellbeing and equality became (at least implicitly) suppressed by GDP growth. (...) [3] The policy idea of a virtuous circle established a compromise between social and financial goals without paying attention to the negative environmental consequences of economic growth." Tuuli Hirvilammi (2020). The Virtuous Circle of Sustainable Welfare as a Transformative Policy Idea. Sustainability vol. 12, 391.
