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Enough is Enough: a sustainable
economy in world of finite resources
Definition
A steady state economy is an economy of relatively
stable size. It features stable population and stable
consumption that remain at or below carrying
capacity
Brief History
Neoclassical economics view of a everlasting growing
cycles of production and consumption
Something missing?
The I=PAT Formula
Impact (environmental) =
Population x
Affluence (GDP per capita) x
Technology (environmental impact
per dollar of GDP)
(Ehrlich and Holdren 1971)
Definition
A steady state economy is an economy of relatively
stable size. It features stable population and stable
consumption that remain at or below carrying
capacity
The I=PAT Formula
Impact (environmental) =
Population x
Affluence (GDP per capita) x
Technology (environmental impact
per dollar of GDP)
(Ehrlich and Holdren 1971)
However, it’s not perfect
Impact (environmental) =
Population x
Affluence (GDP per capita) x
Technology (environmental impact
per dollar of GDP)
(Ehrlich and Holdren 1971)
Solow’s substitutability
all kinds of natural capital can be
substituted by human-made capital
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
Any non-physical
components of an economy
(e.g., knowledge) can grow
indefinitely. But the physical
components (e.g. supplies of
natural resources, human
populations, and stocks of
human-built capital) are
constrained by the laws of
physics and beholden to
ecological relationships.
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
1st Law of Thermodynamics:
Conservation of Matter/Energy
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
Closed System
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
2nd Law of Thermodynamics:
energy of all kinds in our material world disperses
or dissipates if it is not hindered from doing so
entropy is a quantitative measure of that kind of
spontaneous process: how much energy flowed
from being constricted or concentrated to being
more widely spread
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
Deduction: perpetual-motion machines is not ever
possible
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
Raw materials
Spontaneous
energy dissipation
Waste
Czech and Daly’s steadystate economy
Objective: keep the
throughput of raw materials
(low entropy) and waste
(high entropy) at levels
within the regenerative and
assimilative capacity of the
ecosystem
Retrospect to our current
economy
What does continuous
growth actually do and what
will it lead to?
THE DAY?
What do we do according to
SSE?
The constraint high-quality,
long-lasting, repairable goods
How to achieve SSE?
 Apply substantial taxes on fossil fuels, especially
petrol
 Abolish subsidies encouraging fossil fuel use
 Price water to reflect scarcity and encourage
conservation
 Halt immigration
 Eliminate subsidies to industrial agriculture
 Abandon globalization