Abstract:
If there is any takeaway from 1971’s The Entropy Law and the Economic Process, it’s
this: beneath every intersection of the supply and demand curve, there’s a slow, but
steady, process of environmental degradation. Try as you will to recycle waste materials,
the book argues—this process cannot be reversed. A formulation of economics backed
with this insight was the life vision of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, whose work on
environmental economics has recently received a new round of academic scrutiny. But
one might ask, why wasn’t Georgescu well received the first time around, during his
time? This paper explores that topic.
