Limits to economic growth
October 26th, 2007 by Jim JustWe are seeing a number of inconvenient trends in the global environment that are the direct result of unbridled economic growth. Global warming is perhaps the most visible, but other trends include energy depletion, soil erosion, water depletion, fisheries collapse, deforestation and rapid species loss. And, of course, all of these are correlated to population growth.
The mainstream economist’s view is that natural systems can provide whatever the economy needs for continued growth. An ecological economist sees things differently. All of society is dependent on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and mines for food, fiber, minerals, and especially energy. If these foundations are being perpetually degraded and undermined, say, by climate change, water shortages and depletion, all the other wealth-creating and technology-creating parts of society will have increasing difficulty functioning.
A steady-state economy is not synonymous with a centralized, command economy. Markets have existed in steady-state economies from the dawn of history. Moreover, as former World Bank economist and steady-state advocate Herman Daly has argued, market competition in such an economy would focus on improvement in quality and efficiency. And in such an economy efficiency gains would actually reduce throughput and thus reduce the burden on the ecosphere.
We are now beginning to see that economic growth and true sustainable long-term wealth are antithetical. As a new U.N. Environmental Program report warns, humans are living completely beyond their ecological means, and it looks like the bills are beginning to come due.