AS I write this, large parts of the country are obsessed by the value of their houses. People feel rich because their houses have rocketed in value over the last few years. But with interest rates rising and banks burning their fingers on ill-judged loans, there are signs that the housing market may slow or even reverse.
Value, of course, is a mere human construct, a measure of economic confidence. A ‘natural valuation’ might add up the cost of baking bricks, the growing, cutting and preparing of wood, and the carbon emissions in manufacturing the cement and concrete used in the house. How different to our present human evaluation!
This distinction between unrealistic human values and underlying natural values is found across the economic sector. Last year I travelled to Newcastle-upon- Tyne at someone else’s expense. The aeroplane caused more than four times as much carbon pollution as the train for that journey, yet the plane fare was around half the cheapest train ticket I could use, so I felt bullied into using the environmentally appalling aeroplane.
Perhaps we all need to be more aware of ‘natural economics’ that acknowledge the damage to our environment when we make decisions about spending our money.
The Revd Prof Ian James is Environmental Adviser to the Diocese of Oxford.
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