I have 2 questions about working towards sustainability?

Question

What types of changes in policy or actions might help work toward sustainability in...

1. the current continued growth model(the neoclassical model)?

2. the ecological economics model?

I'm trying to consider for each what type of economy is seen as ideal for the future and how the definitions of wealth vary depending on what economic model is followed.

Great way to get Best Answer points with this question! Thanks for the help!

Answer 1

i cant see how the continued growth model can be sustainable. it relies on such narrow analytical reasoning, e.g. that 'the economy' can be considered in isolation from the wider biosphere, that it will only ever produce minor tinkering around the edges of the problem, such as the 'cap and trade' fiasco..

Answer 2

These questions are related to public policy. Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. Government and individual failure to act on the available information is widely attributed to personal greed.

Neoclassical economics refers to a general approach in economics focusing on the determination of prices, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand. These are mediated through a hypothesized maximization of income-constrained utility by individuals and of cost-constrained profits of firms employing available information and factors of production.

Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary field of academic research that addresses the dynamic and spatial interdependence between human economies and natural ecosystems. Its main focus is the "scale" conundrum: how to operate an economy within the ecological constraints of the biosphere. Ecological economics brings together and connects different disciplines, within the natural and social sciences but especially between these broad areas.

Answer 3

An interesting question. I shall look forward to reading some of the answers. The two models are in reality complex when predicting the future, the variables are numerous and different for each economical state. It is a good exercise to run these in parallel and at present conditions. Extrapolation shows, in my opinion, that the two models are converging and the degree of reliance on one or the other is going to be a balance between two current limits. The future model(s) is only a model based on current known values and policy, conditions change that will influence the models to be integrated more and more. Perhaps it is a question of add them together and divide by two. We now need a more flexible model in order to predict and direct the desired outcome in these changing times. Policies and actions: expect the unexpected.