A Green Economy
Three slogans can help to explain what green economics is all about.
1. Economics for a small planet
It reminds us that provisioning takes place within a limit system: something that economists have long denied but that nature is reminding us on an increasingly frequent basis.
2. Economics for people and planet
Underlining that we need a focus on social justice as well as ecological balance.
3. Beyond supply and demand to meeting people’s needs
A phrase which I used as the title of a book in 1999.
Supply & Demand
Conventional economics will provide a graph with two straight lines representing ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ and then apply this to the complex relationships which are entailed by the production and exchange of goods.
Green economics calls for a richer and deeper understanding of people, their relationships, and how they behave and are motivated.
The ‘needs’ we are concerned about are not merely physical needs but also psychological and spiritual needs.
A Book : Green Economics
There is more detail about what a green approach to economics might look like in my book Green Economics. This is nearly 20 years old now but I must say I think most of it stands the test of time.
In fact, when I reread what I and others were writing back then it makes me weep that we have been so marginalised and that humanity is now facing the grim consequences of untrammelled capitalism.
An Academic Paper
If you would like to read a more complex introduction to green economics you can read something I have written which is an Academic paper defining green economics.