ABSTRACT
We have taken the story as far as we can in terms of developments in the academy. Herman Daly’s book Steady-state Economics was published in 1977, and gave a clear indication of the need to respect planetary and energy limits – and yet little has changed in the political or economic arena. The next two chapters cover schools of economic thought that take a more overtly political approach. Green and anti-capitalist economists would both subscribe to the view that there is an inherent political block preventing academic and theoretical economics from influencing the real economy to move in a direction that would be benign for the planet. Green economists identify themselves more with the tradition of political economy. In contrast to neoclassical and environmental economists, both of whom have faith in a perfect system of understanding that can generate beneficent outcomes, green economists argue that the environmental problems we face as a result of economic activity cannot be solved without fundamental political changes.
