ABSTRACT
The peoples of the world are rushing headlong into the future, measuring progress by economic growth based on increasing consumption within an increasingly globalized and connected economy. It has become apparent that current policy is failing on many levels: biodiversity loss has accelerated, climate change continues unabated and, despite using economics as the focus of policy, the global economy is struggling. The dire scenario suggested in 1972 – that the economy and the ecosystem may collapse around the middle of the twentyfirst century (Meadows et al. 1972 and 2004) – is no longer outlandish. There is a real possibility that civilization is sleepwalking into a terrible crisis (McManners 2009). It is human nature to be optimistic, and not to take doommongers seriously, but it would be wise to shift off the current track and onto a safer trajectory.
