Enough Is Enough—Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources

This powerful book sets out arguments and an agenda of policy proposals for achieving a sustainable and prosperous, but non-growing economy, also known as a steady-state economy. The authors describe a plan for solving the major social and environmental problems which face us today on a finite planet with a rapidly growing population. They show how we have to find ways to reverse the environmental crises, while at the same time, we have to eradicate poverty and erase the divide between the haves and the have-nots. They argue that the economic orthodoxy in use around the globe is not up to the challenge and that the core of this orthodoxy, pursuit of never-ending economic growth, has become dysfunctional. With each passing day, we are witnessing more and more uneconomic growth—growth that costs more than it is worth. An economy that chases perpetually increasing production and consumption, always in search of more, stands no chance of achieving a lasting prosperity. We need an economy that can meet our needs without undermining the life-support systems and resources of the planet. The book argues that now is the time to change the economic goal from the madness of more to the wisdom of enough.

Rob Dietz is Editor of the Daly News and the former executive director of CASSE (the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy).

Dan O'Neill is a lecturer in ecological economics at the University of Leeds, UK, and and the chief economist for CASSE.