Herman Daly
In yesterday’s empty world, growth made sense; in today’s full world, physical growth of the economy encroaches on the ecosphere to a degree that we sacrifice natural services that at the margin are more valuable than the production services added by growth. The optimal scale of the economy relative to the ecosphere is thus exceeded. Growth becomes uneconomic. What are the reasons for believing that this is true? What are the consequences for economic theory, and for policy? What has blocked our recognition of this epochal change in the pattern of scarcity? Finally, what values and ethical principles are required to enable withdrawal from our addiction to growth?