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On the Steady State
Republished version of Herman Daly’s 1987 essay, originally appearing in the Population-Environment Balance Monograph Series, now with a foreword by Benjamin Kunkel.
45 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
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About the author
Herman E. Daly
41 books75 followersDr. Herman Edward Daly is an American ecological economist and professor at the School of Public Policy of University of Maryland, College Park in the United States. He was Senior Economist in the Environment Department of the World Bank, where he helped to develop policy guidelines related to sustainable development. While there, he was engaged in environmental operations work in Latin America. He is closely associated with theories of a Steady state economy.
Before joining the World Bank, Daly was Alumni Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University. He was a co-founder and associate editor of the journal, Ecological Economics.
He is also a recipient of an Honorary Right Livelihood Award, the Heineken Prize for Environmental Science from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Sophie Prize (Norway), the Leontief Prize from the Global Development and Environment Institute and was chosen as Man of the Year 2008 by Adbusters magazine.
He is widely credited with having originated the idea of uneconomic growth, though some credit this to Marilyn Waring who developed it more completely in her study of the UN System of National Accounts.
Before joining the World Bank, Daly was Alumni Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University. He was a co-founder and associate editor of the journal, Ecological Economics.
He is also a recipient of an Honorary Right Livelihood Award, the Heineken Prize for Environmental Science from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Sophie Prize (Norway), the Leontief Prize from the Global Development and Environment Institute and was chosen as Man of the Year 2008 by Adbusters magazine.
He is widely credited with having originated the idea of uneconomic growth, though some credit this to Marilyn Waring who developed it more completely in her study of the UN System of National Accounts.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 6, 2023
A short, concise and compelling description of Daly's thesis on steady-state economics. The introduction by Benjamin Kunkel makes some salient points as well. The mix of humour throughout Daly's essay makes for a fun read at the right moments.
My only criticism of Daly's essay is that he spends so many pages emphasizing why it is important that we change from a Keynesian, growth-focused economy to a steady-state, ecologically-centred one only to state at the end of his essay that this change is up to fate. He cites imminent ecological collapse, by which point he himself admits it will likely be too late to change, and the Great Depression as examples of what might trigger a shift in economic systems. This is the equivalent of throwing your hands up and saying "it is what it is though" after making many good points. If Daly truly believes our economic systems need to change, he and his readers must find ways to catalyze it.
It's a tragedy this theory has been published since 1977 but has not been taken seriously enough to slow down or stop the ecological crisis we face in 2023 and for the foreseeable future. More attention should be paid to this text.
My only criticism of Daly's essay is that he spends so many pages emphasizing why it is important that we change from a Keynesian, growth-focused economy to a steady-state, ecologically-centred one only to state at the end of his essay that this change is up to fate. He cites imminent ecological collapse, by which point he himself admits it will likely be too late to change, and the Great Depression as examples of what might trigger a shift in economic systems. This is the equivalent of throwing your hands up and saying "it is what it is though" after making many good points. If Daly truly believes our economic systems need to change, he and his readers must find ways to catalyze it.
It's a tragedy this theory has been published since 1977 but has not been taken seriously enough to slow down or stop the ecological crisis we face in 2023 and for the foreseeable future. More attention should be paid to this text.
Displaying 1 of 1 review