Ecological Economics, Second Edition: Principles and Applications

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The futility limit occurs when the marginal utility of production falls to zero. Even with no cost of production, there is a limit to how much we can consume and still enjoy it. There is a limit to how many goods we can enjoy in a given time period, as well as a limit to our stomachs and the sensory capacity of our nervous systems. In a world with considerable poverty, and in which the poor observe the very rich still enjoying their extra wealth, many view this futility limit as far away, not only for the poor, but for everyone. By its “non-satiety” postulate, neoclassical economics formally denies the concept of the futility limit. However, studies have shown that, beyond a “sufficiency threshold,” both self-evaluated happiness and objective indices of welfare cease to increase with GDP. 4 Sen, A. (1992). Inequality Reexamined. New York and Oxford: Russell Sage Foundation and Clarendon Press.

For exceptions see Jacobs, The Green Economy: Environment, sustainable development and the politics of the future (London: Pluto Press, 1991); Burkett, Marxism and Ecological Economics: Toward a red and green political economy (Brill, 2006).A realistic vision of the role of energy in economic activity and growth of productivity (see Hall and Klitgaard 2012): the interactions of energy quality, technological change, the labour process, the global financial economy and the evolution of human society need to be understood better—impending absolute scarcity, the Energy Ret and the consequences of its use, especially for climate change. As with the other parts of the theory, energy analysis requires transdisciplinary efforts to understand biophysical limits, the functions of the economy and the political processes, and the domestic and international political contexts.

Norgaard, R. (1994). Development Betrayed: The End of Progress and a Coevolutionary Revisioning of the Future. London: Routledge. Common, M., & Stagl, S. ( 2016) . Ecological Economics. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press. This introductory textbook provides a systematic overview of ecological economics from an interdisciplinary perspective, including economic and ecological sciences. It describes the interdependence of the modern economy and its environment, the environmental and sustainability discourse in economics, the national policy processes and instruments, the international institutions and the interaction between economy and sustainability with regard to climate change and biodiversity. Hall, C. A. S., & Klitgaard, K. (2012). Energy and the Wealth of Nations: An Introduction to Biophysical Economics. Cham, Switzerland: Springer and Springer Nature. Reforming the banking sector: Move from a fractional reserve banking system to 100% reserve requirements on demand deposits. Money would no longer be mainly interest-bearing debt created by private banks, but non-interest-bearing government debt issued by the Treasury. Every dollar loaned for investment would be a dollar previously saved by someone else, restoring the classical balance between investment and abstinence from consumption, and dampening boom and bust cycles. Sen, A. (1995). Gender Inequality and Theories of Justice. In M. Nussbaum & J. Glover (Eds.), Women, Culture and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities (pp. 259–273). New Delhi et al.: Oxford University Press.Schwartzman, D. (2012). A Critique of Degrowth and Its Politics. Capital Nature Socialism, 23(1), 119–125.

GreenCom and Academy for Educational Development. (Eds.). (2000). Environmental Education and Communication for a Sustainable World: Handbook for International Practitioners. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development. Schnaiberg, A. (1980). The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity. New York: Oxford University Press. Need an antidote to the doom and gloom? Stressed-out environmental advocates will appreciate Prospects for Resilience: Insights from New York City's Jamaica Bay. It’s a deep dive into one of the most important questions of our time: how can we create cities where people and nature thrive together? Prospects for Resilience showcases successful efforts to restore New York’s much abused Jamaica Bay, but its lessons apply to any communities seeking to become more resilient in a turbulent world. An economic theory of the sustainable economy must integrate production, consumption, work, finance, energy and policy, to name but a few characteristics. The dark base of the pyramid represents the relatively solid and consensual knowledge of various sources of low-entropy matter-energy. The light apex of the pyramid represents the fact that our knowledge of the Ultimate End is uncertain and not nearly as consensual as physics. The single apex will annoy pluralists who think that there are many “ultimate ends.” Grammatically and logically, however, “ultimate” requires the singular. Yet there is certainly room for more than one perception of the nature of the singular Ultimate End, and much need for tolerance and patience in reasoning together about it.

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The Economy as Subsystem of the Ecosphere | From Empty World to Full World: The Limiting Factor Has Changed | Limits to Growth and the Optimal Scale of the Economy in a Full World | Policies for a Steady-State Economy | Larger Ethical and Ecological Context of Economics | Endnotes The Economy as Subsystem of the Ecosphere Bromley, D. (Ed.). (1992). Making the Commons Work: Theory, Practice, and Policy. San Francisco: ICS Press.