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Can de-growth be considered a policy option? : A historical note on Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen and the Club of Rome

Author

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  • Clément Levallois

    (EM - EMLyon Business School)

Abstract

At a few months' interval, Georgescu-Roegen's The Entropy Law and the Economic Process (1971) and Club of Rome's Limits to Growth (1972) were published. Both emphasized the dangers of economic growth, and both drew negative reactions from mainstream economists. Relying on archival evidence, we show that Georgescu-Roegen and the Club of Rome developed strategies of mutual support, which would present them at first view as natural allies. Georgescu-Roegen actually became a member of the Club of Rome, while Dennis Meadows acknowledged the influence of Georgescu-Roegen's ideas on the team of authors of Limits to Growth. But in the late 70's, the gap widened between Georgescu-Roegen's adamant defense of de-growth, and the Club of Rome's less firm view of "sustainable growth." This paper explores the process leading to the self-isolation of Georgescu-Roegen, by showing that beyond a shared acknowledgment that economic and biologic systems were interdependent, technological optimism and ambitions for the global management of growth were central to the Club of Rome, while Georgescu-Roegen's personal history led him to ignore those practicalities and judge that de-growth was inescapable.

Suggested Citation

  • Clément Levallois, 2010. "Can de-growth be considered a policy option? : A historical note on Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen and the Club of Rome," Post-Print hal-02313162, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02313162
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Quentin Couix, 2019. "Natural resources in the theory of production: the Georgescu-Roegen/Daly versus Solow/Stiglitz controversy," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(6), pages 1341-1378, November.
    2. Málovics, György & Dombi, Judit, 2015. "A növekedésen túl - egy új irányzat hozzájárulása a fenntarthatósági vitához [Beyond growth - the contribution of a new direction to the debate on sustainability]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(2), pages 200-221.
    3. Vivien, F.-D. & Nieddu, M. & Befort, N. & Debref, R. & Giampietro, M., 2019. "The Hijacking of the Bioeconomy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 189-197.
    4. Anca Elena Gheorghica, 2012. "The Emergence Of La Decroissance," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 4(1), pages 60-75, March.
    5. Quentin Couix, 2018. "The role of natural resources in production: Georgescu-Roegen/Daly versus Solow/Stiglitz," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 18001, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    6. Gennady Shkliarevsky, 2015. "Squaring the Circle: In Quest for Sustainability," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(6), pages 629-645, November.
    7. Matthias Klumpp, 2016. "To Green or Not to Green: A Political, Economic and Social Analysis for the Past Failure of Green Logistics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-22, May.
    8. Matthias Klumpp, 2017. "Do Forwarders Improve Sustainability Efficiency? Evidence from a European DEA Malmquist Index Calculation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-33, May.
    9. Matthias Klumpp, 2018. "How to Achieve Supply Chain Sustainability Efficiently? Taming the Triple Bottom Line Split Business Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, February.
    10. Moon, Wanki, 2011. "Is agriculture compatible with free trade?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 13-24.
    11. Foran, Barney, 2011. "Low carbon transition options for Australia," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 223(1), pages 72-80.
    12. repec:jes:wpaper:y:2012:v:4:p:60-75 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Mohammad Al-Saidi, 2020. "From Economic to Extrinsic Values of Sustainable Energy: Prestige, Neo-Rentierism, and Geopolitics of the Energy Transition in the Arabian Peninsula," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    14. Klarin Tomislav, 2018. "The Concept of Sustainable Development: From its Beginning to the Contemporary Issues," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 21(1), pages 67-94, May.
    15. François Allisson & Antoine Missemer, 2020. "Some Historiographical Tools for the Study of Intellectual Legacies," Post-Print halshs-02931492, HAL.
    16. Tokic, Damir, 2012. "The economic and financial dimensions of degrowth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 49-56.
    17. Zacharopoulou, Georgia, 2015. "Diachronic exploitation of landscape resources - tangible and intangible industrial heritage and their synthesis suspended step," SocArXiv 8r3yk, Center for Open Science.
    18. Jesus Ramos-Martin, 2016. "Biophysical limits of current debates on degrowth and the knowledge economy," Documentos de Trabajo FLACSO Ecuador 2016_04, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO).
    19. Fabio Boschetti & Elizabeth A. Fulton & Nicola J. Grigg, 2014. "Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-26, December.

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