Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development

I can't say enough about how moved I was by this book. Having worked in a corporate setting for a number of years, I have wondered how growth can always be the goal of business and how the world can keep expanding and still accommodate everyone's needs. Herman Daly breaks down the problems with economic growth and how fraudulent it is for measuring economic health. Daly advocates sustainable development from a number of economic and social angles. His explanations become abstract at times, but he effectively challenges established economic thinking and offers alternatives. Without recognition of physical ecological parameters, economic growth as we know it, including GNP, does not measure economic reality. The concept met with opposition from economists at the World Bank where Mr. Daly once worked (as of the mid-1990s when this book was written). The book starts with a passionate rebuttal to the World Bank and their "preanalytic vision" that the economy operates separately from the environment. In the remainder of the book his frustration is aimed more broadly at neoclassical western economists for ignoring the environment and the laws of thermodynamics. A great example is not accounting for environmental costs during the "throughput" process where products go from raw material to final waste. I learned how important size or "scale" of macroeconomics is, but not accounted for even though it is surpassing the "carrying capacity" of our planet. Daly refutes modern developments such as an "information economy," to replace depleted resources. Also, lack of natural materials can't be substituted with efficiency: "One cannot substitute efficient cause for material cause--one cannot build the same wooden house with half the timber no matter how many saws and carpenters one tries to substitute," (p. 76). Globalization, Daly argues, opposes the goal of sustainable development as does free trade, overpopulation, and inequality, all of which are closely analyzed. Globalization and free trade came across to me as particularly harmful because they limit a nation's ability to protect its people, culture, and environment. Daly recommends "maximum wage" to limit inequality. Justification for this concept uses biblical references in a religious-based section, which might seem inappropriate for an economics book, but I found the points made important and well presented. His solutions for change have the goal of creating a "steady state" economy. With such an economy, humans are able to live on the earth and use amounts of the resources that can be maintained indefinitely. This difficult goal includes principles that may seem radical like population control and limiting inequality. But accounting for our environmental costs in our economy is not radical; it's common sense. I appreciate the perspective the book takes because it proves that the loss of natural resources isn't just anti-ecological, but also anti-economical. Probably one of the most important

Daly, more than any other economist or writer on sustainability, makes clear the fallacies of traditional free-market thinking. The book illustrates very clearly why economic growth cannot be sustainable in a finite world. (Although he doesnt use the metaphor -- I'll borrow it from Edward Abbey -- the same logic explains why "sustainable" cell growth in humans is called "cancer.") Daly argues that traditional economic theory is mainly useful in only one of the three core areas of economy (the optimal price and allocation of scarce resources) and does not address in any meaningful way two other issues -- the distribution of resources and determining the overall scale of the economy that can be sustained within the biosphere. Particularly interesting is the essay on economist Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, which describes all of the tenets of traditional economic theory that become untenable merely when one accepts the fact that the second law of thermodynamics (the law on increasing entropy) must apply to an economy just as it applies to the biological and physical world.What makes Daly effective as a writer is the calm humility of his intellect. Economics has practically become a religion in our society (witness the dogmatic reviews of political/economic books on this site). However, unlike other economists, who get shrill and polemical when their dogma is challenged, Daly is willing to consider possible holes in his arguments, opponents' counterarguments, and unknowns. Of course, he shreds most counterarguments in his calm, polite way, but after reading other economists the openness is refreshing.My one complaint is the disjointed nature of the book. Although certain themes run throughout each of the seven sections, some of the pieces were originally written as separate essays, and it shows. However, given the clarity of the writing (even on very technical subjects such as Soddy's views on the nature of money) that is ultimately forgivable.

Herman Daly continues to consolidate and sharpen the insights first expressed (with coauthor Cobb) in "For the Common Good." Here, with 6 years of experience with the World Bank under his belt, Daly is uniquely able to address the short-sightedness of current economic thought and flesh out its implications for all of us. Although quite technical for the average reader, this book says all that you would ever need to know about why the IMF, the WTO, and the World Bank are rapidly pushing the "inevitable" global economy and all of humanity toward an even more inevitable ecological meltdown. But more importantly, Daly calmly details the exact policy changes that will be required to reverse course. They're not complex -- they simply require a level of political will and cultural sobriety not seen in the United States since...well, since the country was founded. From my perspective, this book is a _must_read_, even more so than the equally outstanding "For the Common Good."

Herman Daly has been warning his readers of the dangers of unrestrained growth longer than some of them have been alive! He is a tireless, thoughtful, and informed proponent of sustainable economic policy who has enjoyed more success than most growth heretics, as attested by his six years at the World Bank. But, like other heretics - whether of growth or of other dogmas - his teachings are largely ignored or ridiculed by the pharisees of proper thought. No doubt his professional status has been diminished by the stand he has taken. Felicitously, we don't burn heretics at the stake these days for undermining archaic beliefs purblindly held or the anti-growth movement might have its first martyr. In "Beyond Growth" Daly puts forth his beliefs in a concise and readable way. I found the first few chapters a bit heavy on economic theory and terminology (Daly is after all an economist first and foremost), but once that necessary underpinning has been laid Daly goes on to discuss growth-related topics (population, international trade, ethics) in terms more familiar to the layman, expressed in a thought-provoking and even moving way. Daly not only knows, he cares. The final chapter of the book, in which he attempts to meld the concept of stewardship common to most religions with principles of sustainable development, suggests Daly's concern for growth-addicted humanity springs from a religious upbringing. If he has forsaken some of the dogmatic teachings of his youth, he has retained the kernel of the faith, a devotion to Truth and the well-being of his fellow man, to which he adheres as firmly as did his Renaissance predecessor in heresy. Such adhesion brought Bruno martyrdom at the stake; for Daly it is more likley to bring ultimate recognition as one of the most forward-thinking intellectuals of his time.

Herman Daly fills a spiritual void in the field of economics. He explains how current capitalist economic theories dependent on unlimited growth are not only destructive to the environmental resource base upon which the economy depends, but also morally indifferent to unwanted side effects such as the unequal distribution of wealth. The strength of Daly's work is such that it may help bring two important advocacy groups that are not normally associated we each other--environmentalists and Christians--together into a powerful constituency.