seems pretty vague

Perhaps. I posted it because I came across their blog today after reading a George Monbiot editorial, and then started reading their Manifesto. This seemed more accessible as a chunk than either of those two.

Perhaps I should have submitted their most recent blog post instead: http://www.dark-mountain.net/wordpress/2010/05/19/the-need-f...

Certainly less vague. I don't necessarily agree with their conclusions (and neither does Monbiot), but it seemed like a well reasoned discussion.

I have to disagree with a lot of statements in this second article. For instance:

"Amongst other things, growth is needed in a capitalist economy to offset labour productivity – in other words, to provide new jobs for people made jobless by the economy’s relentless drive towards increasing labour efficiency, which itself is stimulated by the need to grow in order to outcompete others."

Productivity doesn't create joblessness. When people are able to spend less on one thing, they can spend more on other things, things that people must work to provide.

Efficiency doesn't create joblessness. It creates wealth. And the more efficient things are, the less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

And less time it takes to produce the things we need to live, the more time we spend considering the effects of our activities.