Abstract
The transition to sustainability will be difficult. Environmental sustainability entails living within the Earth’s limits, yet the majority of scientific studies indicate a condition of overshoot. For mainstream economists sustainability means perpetuating economic growth. Consequently, environmental and economic sustainability are incompatible in the present institutional context. This paper seeks to develop a new theory of sustainability based upon historical and institutional contexts, the role of economic crises, as well as focusing upon energy quality and meaningful work. Mainstream economics, which emphasizes market self-regulation and economic growth, is not a good vehicle for a theory of sustainability. Better insights are to be found in the literature of heterodox political economy and political ecology. Political ecology is based upon the theory of monopoly capital. Monopoly capitalism exhibits a tendency towards stagnation, because the economic surplus cannot be absorbed adequately in the absence of system-wide waste. The Monthly Review School continues this tradition in the context of the metabolic rift, while the Capitalism, Nature and Socialism School develops the idea of a second contradiction of capitalism. The Social Structure of Accumulation school pursues the idea of long swings of economic activity based upon institutional structures that aid or inhibit capital accumulation.
Highlights
The transition from our present society to one that is environmentally, economically, culturally and socially sustainable will be difficult
This essay turns to a brief summary of Political Ecology and the Social Structure of Accumulation School. It will conclude with possible research directions and the enunciation of a sustainable set of goals that are compatible with the principles found in heterodox political economy
In the introduction to this essay, I called for a new theory that contains a real world analysis, a historical context, analyses of economic crises, foci on work, productivity and energy and a vision of the future
Summary
The transition from our present society to one that is environmentally, economically, culturally and socially sustainable will be difficult. Does the world economy need to achieve a steady state, it needs to reduce its footprint in order to stay within the Earth’s biophysical limits. Economic growth has been the vehicle that enabled other social goals, such as achieving and maintaining full employment, reducing poverty, expanding capabilities and increasing opportunities. 8% mark in the United States and even higher in Europe Poverty rates are both high and increasing. Maintaining the economy necessitates the continuation of capital accumulation and economic growth. In order to achieve environmental sustainability, the human ecological footprint must shrink. These cannot occur at the same time, and nature is the ultimate arbiter. In order to do so, we must abandon the economic theories of growth, and the institutional structures of the growth economy
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