10 Questions
True or false: The exploitation of the natural world as a source of raw materials and a sink for the disposal of waste has rapidly escalated since the middle of the twentieth century.
True
True or false: The disruption of the global biosphere due to the exploitation of the natural world has only become evident over the past half century?
True
True or false: The commitment to growth without end has wavered despite concepts such as sustainability and 'going green' gaining popularity in recent times.
False
True of False: Economic growth considered the preferred solution to global inequality after World War II.
True
True or False: According to the reading, scientists who exposed ecological problems found themselves under attack from business organizations.
True
True or False: Large corporations funded the expansion of "think tanks" dedicated to the dissemination of business values and interests that sometimes conflicted with ecological concerns.
True
True or False: The denial of climate change and the attempt to dispute evidence of environmental decline may be described as 'the cultural production of ignorance.'
True
True or False: Neoliberal economics emerged in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
False
True or False: The authors of 'The Limits to Growth' warned of problems from accelerating industrialization, population growth, malnutrition, resource depletion, and environmental decline.
True
True or False: The promotion of "growth" economics was limited to developed countries and not promoted by China and others.
False
Study Notes
- "The Limits to Growth" was written by MIT researchers in 1972 for the Club of Rome, an international think tank.
- The authors, with expertise in various fields, warned of grave problems from accelerating industrialization, population growth, malnutrition, resource depletion, and environmental decline.
- Their modeling showed that continued unchecked economic growth would likely lead to ecological and social collapse in the second half of the 21st century.
- Despite scientists' warnings, economic growth became more entrenched as the primary objective of human societies in the following decades.
- The promotion of growth economics was not limited to developed countries but was emulated by communist China and others.
- Neoliberal economics, which emphasizes the market and limits regulation, emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was embraced by corporations.
- Neoliberal economics shifted power away from people and their elected representatives to unelected bodies and discarded planning and regulation as inefficient.
- The neoliberal "revolution" in public policy set up roadblocks for regulatory strategies and prioritized the "free market" over the common good.
- The unprecedented economic expansion since the late 1800s coincided with the emergence of modern corporations and the shift from regulation to neoliberal economics.
- The text raises questions about how scientific warnings were ignored and discarded in favor of growth economics, and how corporations and neoliberal economics have influenced public policy.
Explore the environmental impact of human activities and the associated disruption of the global biosphere. Understand the historical roots of the escalation in exploiting the natural world and the disposal of waste.
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