Nature in Economic Theories: Hans Immler Traces Recognition of the Environment—and Its Neglect—in Various Classics

Abstract

Abstract. Labor and capital are usually considered as the primary factors of production, the costs of which are of utmost importance. In contrast, nature (including all natural resources), as the essential third factor, is disregarded. She is generally assumed to be always available, self‐regenerating, and to be exploited without long‐term costs. In other words, she is more or less viewed as a constant. Hans Immler's new treatise represents an important contribution in that he emphasizes the role and function of the natural environment, and its neglect, in the formulation of theories of value and their long‐term consequences on contemporary economic theories and on the person and society. This essay traces Immler's evaluation with extensive quotations—especially with regard to Physiocracy and the classical economists— of nature's role and function, or their neglect, in the formulation of theories of value through the writings of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, William Petty, John Locke, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and others—all dealt with in Part 1 of his book—and Francois Quesnay and the Physiocrats—the topic of Part 2.