Since the thermo-industrial revolution the human imprint on the Biosphere has become so important that some scientists speak of a new geological era, the 'Anthropocene.' The current financial, social and energy crises need tobe understood in this irreversible context, and require a new kind of economic thinking. Conventional theory and practice has failed to take account of the scale and significance of this unparalleled historical situation. This book examines the rich intellectual traditions of heterodox economics - particularly ecological and critical institutional economics - toprovide guidelines for an alternative paradigm for thisnew age. The authors develop key integrative concepts such as social metabolism, value pluralism, evolution and community, gathering together some of the world's foremost heterodox economists.
The Integration of Social, Ecological and Economic Knowledge; C. Spash The Fog of Economics; R. Ayres New Narratives for Sustainability: The Red Pill for Economists; M. Giampietro & K. Mayumi Social Metabolism, Environmental Cost-Shifting and Valuation Languages; J. Martinez-Alier Meanings and Significance of Property with Reference to Today's Three Major Eco-Institutional Crises; R. Steppacher & J. Gerber An Institutional and Evolutionary Critique of Natural Capital; L. Krall & J. Gowdy From Utilitarianism to Evolution in Ecological Economics; G. Hodgson Economics: The Dismal Science? S. Marglin Moving from a Failed Growth Economy to a Steady-State Economy; H. Daly Global Poverty and Financial Crisis: Are We Trapped in an Obsolete Economic Order? D. Bromley