ABSTRACT
The argument falls into two halves. In the first half three crucial features of sustainability as an environmental-economic objective are set out: its biophysical basis, its collective character, and the scale of the socio-economic changes it requires. The approach to environmental policy taken by neo-classical environmental economics is then explained, including the central role given in this to markets. In the second half I attempt to show how these features of the sustainability objective make the neo-classical ‘market model’ inadequate. The model cannot describe the concept of sustainability; it fails to illuminate its structural character; and its discussion of different policy instruments is too limited. A brief concluding section suggests some key features required by any coherent theory of the ‘sustainability state’.
