“When the economy’s expansion encroaches too much on its surrounding ecosystem, we will begin to sacrifice natural capital (such as fish, minerals and fossil fuels) that is worth more than the manufactured capital (such as roads, factories and appliances) added by the growth. We will then have what I call uneconomic growth, producing “bads” faster than goods – making us poorer, not richer. Once we pass the optimal scale, growth becomes stupid in the short run and impossible to maintain in the long run. Evidence suggests that the US may have already entered the uneconomic growth phase. Humankind must make the transition to a sustainable economy – one that takes heed of the inherent biophysical limits of the global ecosystem.” - Herman Daly.

Image courtesy of The Economist.

Not exactly a quote you’ll find on a dorm room poster. Daly was a senior economist for the World Bank and earned the Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” in 1996 for developing ecological economics, which incorporated “the key elements of ethics, quality of life, environment and community.”

Also, check his interview with Andrew Revkin titled "Do We Have to Outgrow Growth?"

 

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