Grenzen des Wachstums oder Wachstum der Grenzen?

Abstract

English Abstract: In 1972, the book "The Limits to Growth" was published as a report to the Club of Rome. This publication has become extraordinarily influential. It has provided public thought about the economy and the environment with a growth-critical paradigm that is still wide-spread today and, as a mental model, predisposes the political discourse of our (world) society against growth, against the market economy and ultimately also against democracy. The alternative paradigm of a "Growth of Limits" does not propagate an ethics of renunciation, so it does not expect people to sacrifice increases in their standard of living in favor of supposedly higher goals. Instead, this mental model relies on the problem-solving mechanism of intensive growth: on a knowledge-driven decoupling of wealth production and resource consumption through innovation.

Note: Downloadable document is in German.

Keywords: Limits of Growth, Growth of Limits, Ordonomics, Sustainability, Innovation

JEL Classification: Q01, Q55, Q57